Silver Souls, Hearts of Gold and Legends Untold
by GrayKat144
Summary: My novelized version of Lyra's advenutres. What Pokemon will she meet, what people will cross her path, who are her friends, who are her enemies? What is going on in the mind of Lyra Soul while she journeys to meet as many people and Pokemon and experience all of the wonders that this world has to offer? Who is Lyra Soul? Will be shippings for you shippers like me!
1. Chapter One: Prologue - Lyra

** Lyra Soul**

This is the story of Lyra.

*The father held his newborn child in his arms. She did not cry; she stretched and twitched her fingers. The mother, who was still in the bed, watched in wonder as her new daughter cooed. The father brought the girl closer to his wife who had just completed his family.

"Look." The mother gasped as though the father were not staring at his gift. They widened their already face-splitting smiles as the baby girl yawned and opened her eyes; big, beautiful caramel brown eyes. The infant rubbed her eyes and blinked, trying to make sense of what she saw. The parents couldn't help but giddily laugh. The moment couldn't possibly be more perfect.

"What should we name her?" The father asked as joyful tears slipped down his face. The mom just stared at her daughter, trying to find a beautiful name that fit her beautiful face.

"I like the name... Lyra. What do you think?" The wife asked her husband. He looked at her with nothing but pure love. "Why not a name like Lyra? Lyra Kotone Soul, what a lovely name!" The wife exclaimed. The husband gave a warm smile before kissing the woman before him. Though they had been through so much together, she was still as beautiful as the day he married her, even more so with that motherly glow.

He pulled back. "It's perfect." He whispered to her. "Her name, this lovely moment, and our family, it's all perfect now." He looked down at his precious little princess resting in his arms. "Little baby Lyra… She's going to grow up to be as beautiful as her mother, and strong like her father." He leaned down and kissed Lyra on her head before she yawned and went back to sleep. Though no one knew at the time, that day, a champion was born, a champion of whom no one would forget.*

* * *

*The ranger sat on the couch, not daring to move his eyes from his little miracle for a second. His wife had to take a break, so after a nap the woman was making her husband's favorite dinner; vegetable stew, which was the ranger and his partner's favorite meal. Pidgeot could never get enough.

"Honey, your bowl's ready." The wife called. The ranger kissed his baby, and placed her limp and sleeping body in her crib. He watched his angel for a second before joining his wife at the table.

"Pidgeot, come and get your food! We gotta go to work tomorrow! We got assigned the big mission of catching that Pokémon poacher." The ranger called his partner down. The great golden bird responded with several caws before leaving his roost on top of the house and climbing in through the window. The Pokémon awkwardly stepped around on his toes toward the table; the poor dear could fly at record speeds for hours without taking a break, but could rarely take a three step trip on his feet without falling. If only the house were big enough that he could fly…

The top ranger nudged a bowl of warm stew towards his bird, and the Pidgeot just plucked the veggies out first, swallowing them whole. After clearing the bowl of its solid contents, the bird ducked his beak into the bowl and in a mere three seconds flat, the broth was gone. If birds could burp, then a complimentary one would've been given.

The humans finished their seconds and were full, but Pidgeot surely cleared that pot with ease and much enthusiasm. Pidgeot was about to go back to his perch when a shy coo reached his ear. Being so absorbed in food had drawn attention away from the humans, and now they seem to be holding… What looks like a tiny, squishy human…?

Pidgeot adjusted his neck to better view it from afar. His best friend and ranger partner turned to him and smiled. With a nod of his head, the Pidgeot was invited over to see. The bird shyly swayed back and forth, considering it, and then carefully stalked his way over there.

"Dear, I'm not sure…" The mother was worried. She had to babysit a lot of children in her day, and if there was one thing she learned, it was that small children get scared around big Pokémon. And by scared, she means they start crying and throwing fits.

Lyra stared at her father blankly, and drowsily. A squawk and nervous murmuring filled little Lyra's ears. These new sounds intrigued her.

"Squawk?" Lyra jumped in surprise at the new face covered in… weird hair and a big shiny nose and mouth. What an odd creature..?

Pidgeot moved his face in closer for a better look. Lyra flinched, her eyes wide. The corners of her mouth started twitching, and her mom thought she was about to cry. She was about to shoo the Pidgeot away when suddenly…

Little Lyra laughed. The mother stopped and the father broke into an indestructible grin. Lyra reached up her month old hand and stroked the smooth golden beak. The bird, clearly pleased, moved in closer and titled his head so she could pet his feathers. Lyra's smile lit up the whole room, and the mother sighed of relief.

"Just like her father; I guess Pokémon start early." The mother said shaking her head.

The dad laughed, and then turned to his partner Pokémon. "How does it feel, Uncle Pidgeot?" He asked with a wink. The bird let out a happy shriek and so did Lyra. After a few minutes, when Lyra got tired and went to sleep, and the adult humans retreated to their rooms, Pidgeot uncomfortably rested on the floor beside the crib. Pidgeot did not mind; he knew that his partner would want him to watch over the little one. Besides, the eagle kind of felt a new friendship being born as well.*

* * *

*The two children sat back to back, asleep with nothing but a Marill between them. The little blue Pokémon snored louder than the boy and girl on either side of him, with a bubble rising out of his nose. He wasn't very big for a Marill; in fact, he only evolved yesterday, so he was still the size of an average Azurill, if not slightly rounder.

The sound of food being placed into a bowl and on the floor caused Marill's eyes to excitedly open. He turned his fat body for a better look and saw his master's father placing a bowl on the floor of the neighbor's kitchen. He beckoned for the Marill, and the blue-bodied mouse jumped off the couch as his tummy growled like an Ursaring. Excitedly he ran and ate the food with much enthusiasm.

Without the Marill to support them, gravity took over and the two kids leaned back and… BONK!

The kids eyes shot open and hands immediately went to the backs of their heads. "Ouch! Ethan, you hit me in the head!" Lyra complained.

"No I didn't! You hit me!" Ethan protested.

"I did not!"

"You did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Kids, calm down. If there is anyone to blame, it's Marill. He left and then you hit each other's heads." Mrs. Elm said, giving a sarcastic glare to Marill to convince the children who did it. Immediately the kids were on Marill, and the blue one ran upstairs and they gave chase all throughout the house while the parents laughed.

"How long has Ethan had his Marill, Mr. Gold?" Lyra's mother asked Ethan's father.

"I got it for him for his birthday. I went into Cherrygrove City, and there was a breeder who was giving away baby Pokémon to new trainers. I told him that my son's birthday was coming up and I figured since Ethan's favorite color was blue, that I would get him the blue bouncy Pokémon. But boy, I had no idea that little Azurill would be so hard to hide, what with its constant energy. But the day I handed Ethan the Pokéball, and he pressed that button, the Azurill straight up smashed the Pokéball in defiance; it clearly don't like being trapped and I don't blame it. But since then, the two have been inseparable and walked side by side since. It's been a year and a half now." Mr. Heart explained.

"Have you considered getting Lyra a Pokémon of her own?" Pregnant Mrs. Elm asked. Lyra's mother shrugged.

"Well, I do want her to have one, and her father says that it would be a great learning experience for her, but... We aren't sure when the right time is. I don't know if she's ready, and I have no idea what kind of Pokemon she would want anyway." Mrs. Soul explained. She waved her hand dismissively. "It's a big ordeal, and we want to wait a while, at least until she's a little older." The other adults understood and nodded.*

* * *

*"Ethan, stop messing around! We're supposed to be researching Pokemon types for the proffesor! Kris and I can't freaking focus when you keep tickling us!" Lyra scolded. Kris, their new best friend who moved in on their street from Mahogany Town a few months ago, followed suit.

"We, meaning all three of us, promised to help him with this! Now either help us with this essay or get out of my room!" She hollered, pointing at the door sternly.

Ethan put his hands up in surrender and sat down beside the girls on Kris's bed. When Kris looked down to scribble something on her paper, Ethan rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her behind her head. Lyra giggled.

"Lyra, what types are Dark Pokemon weak to?" Kris asked without looking up from her paper as she finished jotting down the Dark type strengths.

"Well, according to what I've read," Lyra scanned the webpage she was using as her research source on Ethan's laptop. "...Dark type Pokemon are weak to Bug and Fighting types."

"And Psychic type moves have no effect on them." Ethan added as he patted his Marill. It blew a rasberry and giggled like the little weirdo it was.

Kris whipped her head around to glare at him. "I was writing down their weaknesses. I already wrote down their strengths."

"Well, I don't see any 'No Effects' on your page. I think that would be an important detail for Elm's research, if you asked me." He shrugged.

She groaned and stuttered, trying to think of a smart-mouthed comment, but she gave up. "Shut up, Ethan." The twelve year old rolled her eyes. The twelve year old boy stuck out his tongue at her _very maturely_. Lyra, younger than the others at eleven, just giggled.

"I was just trying to help. You know, you might need the assistance of an experienced trainer." He smirked. Kris blew up at him.

"Oh my Arceus, Ethan! I'll have you know, when Lyra and I get our Pokemon someday, we'll kick your butt hard!"

Ethan glanced at Lyra, winked and looked at Kris with a cocky grin. "What, you can't take me on your own? You need Lyra to back you up?"

Kris's eyes grew huge and her mouth fell open, only to release her frustration through words. "ETHAN GOLD, I WILL GET A POKEMON AND YOU WILL LOSE TO ME AND YOU WILL APOLOGIZE TO ME AND YOU WILL BEG FOR FORGIVENESS AND YOU WILL WORSHIP ME! THIS I SWEAR!" She screamed at him. Ethan watched her serious face, the face that meant she was ready to kill someone. She held her stone cold gaze for the longest time... until her grin broke through and they all laughed at the utter ridiculousness. Kris couldn't really get mad at these two; they were too fun. And Ethan was just playing around, like always.

Lyra finished laughing and sighed. "Kris, what kind of Pokemon do you think we're gonna get as our starters?" She asked, staring into space as she imagined what she could possibly meet in this big huge world.

Kris shrugged and immediately answered, "Hopefully something cute. I think cute Pokemon are the best." She looked back at Lyra and returned the question.

Lyra pondered her answer. "Cute is a good quality too I guess, but... I want a strong Pokemon. Something strong and beautiful and noble... Like my dad's Pidgeot!" She answered.

Ethan chuckled. "Well, I already have the best partner in the world right here! Ain't that right Marill?" Marill laughed and high fived Ethan's face; some would call it slapping, but Ethan calls it high fiving. They all laughed and after they finished discussing their hopes of becoming awesome trainers in this world Pokemon and dreams, they returned back to working.*

* * *

"Too bad Mom couldn't come with us." Lyra said while she hung her head, somewhat disappointed. Her father squeezed her hand reassuringly as they walked down the route towards the Lake of Rage. Pidgeot flew overhead, screeching with intense joy.

"Well, it's okay Princess. You can't blame her for being afraid of Gyarados. Gyarados are scary Pokemon after all."

"But still, it would've been cool if Mom could be here with us for my twelvthe birthday."

"I understand Princess. But Mom still loves you anyway. I promise you that."

"I know and I love Mommy too. It just would've made the best birthday ever even better."

"Yea, I know. But we're still gonna have fun, right?"

"Yes Daddy! Thanks for taking me here! I know I've begged like a hundred times!"

"Anything for Daddy's little princess!" The father chuckled. "Now, if we're lucky, we might find a Gyarados, so make sure you're on the look out!:"

"Woo-Hoo! Let's find a Gyarados!" Lyra cheered. She couldn't wait to see one in person, and also brag about seeing one to her friends.

*This is the day when everything goes wrong**

* * *

*This was not supposed to happen. It shouldn't be happening. Not ever. Especially not on her birthday.

"Daddy!" Lyra screamed as the thrashing Gyarados rampaged all over the lake, ripping out trees and thrashing people around and of course, disturbing the other Gyarados. Her little precious innocent voice could barely be heard over the screaming of the tourists and citizens, but it rang, clear and true in the ears of her father, flying overhead with Pidgeot. "Daddy, what's going on!? DADDY!?"

Pidgeot searched for his master's daughter frantically in the sky, cawing in response every time he heard her voice, trying to find her desperately. The ranger was on voicemail, frantically calling for backup. "Hello!? Top Ranger Jacob Soul of Johto to base! Is anyone there? Hello!?" He started to panic; he needed help with these Gyarados. "I'm requesting backup! I repeat, I'm requesting, no, I am demanding backup! There is an emergency down here at the Lake of Rage, regarding some Gyarados and more are coming! We have a code red, I repeat, a CODE RED SITUATION, AND TURNING MORE SERIOUS! And I can't locate my daughter! Please, I need help out here!" No answer. Something was blocking his styler's signal. He couldn't help freaking out. "Anyone!? Hello!?"

...

A stray tear slipped down his cheek. He choked up in frustration and he had no idea what he should do.

"Daddy, help me! Where are you!?"

Just as he looked down, he found her, his precious little princess curled up by a tree trunk, and hanging on for dear life. "Pidgeot, let's move!" Pidgeot saw her at the same moment and dove down, soaring below to the ground to protect the young girl. Unfortunately, while the Gyarados were trying to find a subject to unleash their rage upon, the biggest and most aggressive monster caught sight of the eagle soaring overhead.

"Princess, are you okay?" The father dove down toward her with his hand outstretched. Lyra let go of the tree and outstretch her hand, trying to reach her father, her king, her protector...

The enormous blue sea monster's teeth wrapped themselves around Pidgeot's feet, and the creature yanked, pulling the bird out from under the ranger, who fell in the water as the eagle flapped around vigorously to escape the fangs.

"Daddy!"

The ranger floundered around and tried to swim to the shore, tried to swim to Lyra. He didn't notice the blue crest of a Pokemon creeping up behind him.

"Daddy, look out!"

The Gyarados launched out of the water, grasped the fearful ranger in it's mouth, and sank back into the depths.

Just as the ranger's body fell below the water level, his eyes locked with Lyra's; eyes of love, fear, sorrow and apology. Just as the ranger opened his mouth to tell his daughter he loved her, his face fell under the water and, instead of giving closure to his daughter he so cherished and was so proud of, inhaled lung-sized gallons of lake water, drowning him as thoughts of his beautiful daughter and wife and his Pidgeot and this entire loving family swimmed across his mind. The memory of his gift Pidgey, the memory of his wedding and Lyra's birth all filled his thought, giving him a sense of peace. At least he passed on with the image of Lyra and her mother and Pidgeot inside of his eyelids; giving him a peaceful image to send him on his way as the Gyarados's fangs tore into him and death took the man into it's grasp.

Lyra stared wide-eyed at the water ripples where her father had submerged below the surface.

Pidgeot, who had escaped from the grip of the water dragon, had watched the whole thing from the skies. He stared in shock, as Lyra did, where his partner now lay dead beneath the surface.

"D-Daddy?" Lyra croaked. "Daddy, no!" She screamed harshly, her heart broken. She bawled and attempted to dive in after her father, her king, her protector, her corpse...

"CAAAWWW!" Pidgeot's talons gripped Lyra by her underarms, and pulled her out of the water, and away from her doom. She still thrashed and screamed and begged and cried for her father, her king, her protector, her now corpse...

Her anguished sounds attracted the attention of another angered Gyarados trying to find a new target. As Pidgeot attempted to fly away fom this painful place, the two companions of the fallen ranger heard the intense furious roar of a sea monster... and Pidgeot knew this roar... and knew what attack would follow.

Pidgeot immediately manuvered on its side, taking the blow of the Dragon Rage's blue flames in its back, incinerating its feathers and smoldering its skin, and screeching in pain. Lyra, on the other side of Pidgeot, screamed in pain as the blue dragon fire licked her leg, scorching and searing her, scarring her forever, as the now limp bird fell to the ground.

They landed with a thud, but Pidgeot was determined to get Lyra out of this dangerous, painful hell of a location. He fluttered up as high as he could, and flew away as far as he could on injured wings.

Pidgeot flapped desperately, trying his hardest to carry the injured, wailing Lyra to a safer location, but his strength could only take him so far...

His shredded wings and mauled muscles gave out on him at the route between the lake and the nearest town; at the moment neither of them had any idea where they were. He fell to the ground in the open space of the woods, a little heartbroken Lyra beside him.

Pidgeot, limping with his crooked, poor-at-walking feet, helped Lyra over to a nearby tree. Lyra helped to support the broken eagle as he helped her walk as well. When they reached the trunk, Pidgeot's breathing was shallow, his heartbeat even worse. Lyra, only wounded in the legs, winced at every step. Though she didn't get the worst of it, Pidgeot still felt like he failed his friend by letting his daughter get hurt. Lyra, unable to move another step, collapsed, and so did Pidgeot.

They sat there together, mourning the death of the ranger.

Lyra held onto her Uncle Pidgeot, the last knight of her king, the only thing left of her dad.

Pidgeot held onto precious little Lyra, the last thing he had left of his master.

Together, they listened to the roars of the Gyarados and the screams of people.

Together, they cried.

Alone, Pidgeot joined his partner in the heavens.

Lyra could tell, because, after a while, Pidgeot's body fell cold in her arms.

And she cried some more.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, this chapter is the backstory for Lyra. This is how she was born, who her father was, how she grew up and what happened to her father. I know, it's a little annoying, but totally necessary for the whole setting up the story, and this is my novelized version of Lyra's adventure. This is the prologue, then there's going to be the adventure and some epilogue parts!**

**And, there's going to be a lot of Lyra shippings so there's something for every Lyra fan (But I choose who she is with in the end!)**

**If there is something you would like to see in the story, lemme know, and I will see what i can do! (No guarantees though!)**

**so this is my first story on this site, so support it please!**


	2. Chapter Two: Breezes of New Beginnings

**Chapter 2 - Breezes of New Beginnings**

The whistles of the happy morning Pidgeys outside awoke me from my dream. At least it wasn't that nightmare again; Dad was alive in this dream, Mom and he were holding hands, walking side by side in this flowery meadow, singing some really cheery love song. Pidgeot and me were playing in the tall grass, chasing one another, Jigglypuff singing in the background. I almost smiled at the birds' song, until I remembered. Dad and Pidgeot were gone. And they weren't coming back.

Remembering that day from three years ago, I got up bitterly, thrust open the window and shooed the stupid birds away. Stupid, annoying little bastards. I didn't hate them because they reminded me of what I've lost; no, these little birds couldn't compare to the heroic guardian angel eagle who gave his life for me. No, I hated them because they always had a reason to be happy, always so happy, while I on the other hand, could rarely ever find a real reason to smile. I didn't hate them; I was jealous.

I shut the window, and turned to my dresser, pulling out some clothes. I replaced my shirt with a black tank top, and took off my cotton pajama pants. I pulled on some overalls, but left the straps hanging. The stupid draft let in the cool autumn breeze, causing my skin to shudder. I found a maroon sweater and slipped it on comfortably, and then did the straps.

I fumbled around my dresser top and finally found my hairbrush. I ran it through my chestnut-brown hair, smoothing out the tangles, making it straight from the knotted mess. I took out two hair-ties, and pulled my hair up into tight pigtails. I don't know why, but I feel_ safer_ that way. It's as if each strand of my hair is a string holding the pieces of my sanity intact, and the tighter my hair is pulled up, the tighter the pieces of my sanity are tied together. I don't want to have a mental breakdown in front of anyone; They all know that I'm fragile.

I reached the bottom drawer and searched for a pair of socks, grabbing some high stockings that reach my mid-thigh. When I placed my foot inside, though I tried to overlook it, I couldn't help but notice those scars. My burns that I had received on my twelfth birthday. I remember how that at first, I couldn't walk, it hurt so freaking bad, and after a while I got used to limping a little bit. I can walk just fine on them now, but I have to wear these really high socks to hide the evidence of what happened on that day. That's why I always try to avoid seeing those scorched, discolored legs of mine; it always takes me back.

_*The Pokemon Rangers found me on Route 43 with the deceased Pidgeot in my arms, his dried blood on my white birthday gown and my seared legs. Two of them escorted me to safety while the others went to handle the situation at the lake. They interrogated me and fed me, gave me fresh clothes at the nearby Pokemon Center and discovered that I was the daughter of the fallen ranger. They gave me their apologies and condolences, and then they called my mother and make arrangements for taking me home._

_*After the whole lake incident had calmed down, they held the funeral for the ranger and his partner there. Mom and I wore black dresses and our neighbors, Professor Elm, his wife and son, Joey, the Gold family and Kris Heart and her family were there, along with a few coworkers of my dad. They tossed rose petals on the water's surface for my father, and they had some Quagsire bury Pidgeot's casket underwater at the bottom of the lake so that way, he can be close to his partner, symbolically keeping human and Pokemon together through life and death. The Chairperson of the Ranger Headquarters in Johto gave a speech of the heroic and selfless Pokemon and Pokemon Ranger, giving fun memories and tough mission stories._

_"Jacob Soul and Pidgeot were the perfect duo out of all our rangers in this region. They were the dream team, and were admired by everyone. We could never dream of having any better partnership in the business. They were the pride and joy of Johto." _

_The Chairperson then led us all in prayer, and we all prayed to Arceus that the two were happy and well now, wherever they are, and we thanked our god for placing these two wonderful beings on this world. Everyone gave little stories of the man, gave us their condolences and lots of hugs and handshakes. _

_The other four Top Rangers stood in a line, hung their stylers in the air as the band played the proud Ranger Union anthem. At the end, the rangers drew loops with their stylers, interlacing loops and circles, symbolizing unity and brotherhood. When they gave my mother a folded ranger flag and his styler, we both couldn't help but cry and get choked up, holding onto the last memorabilia of the loving husband and father.* _

I remember how afterwards, everyone was careful around me. They were cautious of speaking of my father when I was near. Mom, though she was in bad shape too, was stronger than I was about this; after all, I did watch it first hand. I witnessed my father's death, right in front of my eyes, scarring me for life. Sometimes, I have better days, when I think about all the good times I had with Dad and Uncle Pidgeot. Sometimes, on bad days, I hate myself for begging him to take me to the stupid tourist attraction. But most of the time, I just remember and feel the pain of the attack and see the image of Dad being dragged underwater at least once everyday behind my eyelids. But I managed. At least I haven't cried out of nowhere without warning in a while. It used to be random waterworks, and my friends would comfort me and tell me everything's all right. But now, even though I miss them so much, and I think about them everyday, I'm ready to move on and use Pidgeot and Dad as an inspiration for getting stronger. They wouldn't want me to dwell in the past; Dad didn't raise me that way, he would want me to be stronger than this. And I've been trying ever since.

I shook off my trance, pulled up my socks and slipped on my shoes. I looked over and found my marshmallow hat. Oh, that white fluffy hat...

After the funeral, when Mom and I returned home, about a week after, she remembered my present. She gave me the box, and said "Your father got this for you. He remembered how badly you wanted it. He was going to give it to you when you guys came back from the lake, but... Well, you understand." I gingerly opened it, trying to hold back the tears. Then I saw it; a white, puffy hat with a red ribbon. I remembered seeing it before at a store before. Dad took me with him and Pidgeot when Mom sent him to Cherrygrove City for some shopping. I was holding his hand while Pidgeot followed. We passed an accessory store, and that's when I saw it; the big white hat. They only had it in one size, but I was sure I was going to grow into it.

"Daddy, look at that hat! It's so cute! Daddy, don't you see it?" I excitedly pointed at it, grabbing his attention. He agreed that it was a cute hat, and then we continued shopping for the groceries that we couldn't find in New Bark Town, and the whole time we were shopping, all I could think about was that hat.

With a heavy sigh, I slipped on the hat, and trudged downstairs to greet my mother.

I could hear her talking to someone on her Pokegear, and the clinking of dishes rang in the kitchen. When she saw me, she finished placing some waffles on my plate and set it on the table. As I sat down, she handed me a fork and the Smiley Surskit brand syrup bottle.

"Oh, Mr. Gold, go ahead and tell Ethan that Lyra is up now. Ok, good-bye." Mom hung up and she joined me at the table. I slowly chewed and savored the taste of the waffles and the sweet syrup.

"Thanks Mom, these are really good waffles." I complimented her cooking skills with a slight smile.

"Oh, you're welcome Honey." She waved it off, showing me that it was no trouble. She also calls me Honey, because she's afraid of calling me Princess. That was what Dad would always call me. "You seem to be in better spirits today."

I shrugged. "I had a good dream. You and Dad were holding hands. Me and Pidgeot were playing in a patch of flowers. It wasn't sad or scary like my dreams usually are." I swallowed another bite, and then another. "So what were you saying about Ethan?"

She looked up with a mouthful, then swallowed quickly. "Oh, he was here earlier. He and Marill were looking for you, but I told them you were asleep. He said he would come back later." I nodded. It wasn't unusual for Ethan and Kris to come looking for me. I tend to be cheerier after hanging out with them anyway.

I finished breakfast, thanked my mother, and then stepped outside and waited for my friend at the pier by my house.

I walked out to the edge of the platform overlooking the oceanside. I sat down and let my feet dangle in the water for a while. The breeze blew my pigtails back, my loose bangs whipping my face until I brushed them out of the way.

My eyes noticed a sign on my side of the pier, our town motto. "New Bark Town - Winds of New Beginnings." Just as I finished reading it, a new gust blew and my bangs were thrust back in my face. I merely brushed them out of the way again. Looking around, I remembered why we had that motto. The tall vertical windmills that power our town are similar to those of Valley Windworks in the Sinnoh region, or at least that's what a documentory on television told me.

The winds blew forth crisp autumn air, so sweet smelling and cool, filling my lungs with the chilly freshness. I savored the breezes against my skin, calming and cooling. I watched as these winds blew the multicolored leaves around me and on the water's surface, leaving little ripples.

_Ripples like where Dad was dragged down..._

I shook my head violently, trying to have a good day, not another day of self-pity. I don't want another one of those bitter days, remembering all the bad things and painful memories and vivid images...

An odd chirping filled my ears. I looked around, but couldn't find the source of the sound. I returned back to watching the fish swim under my feet, when I heard it again.

"Chweep! Chwerp!" I jumped up again and searched around, left, right then left again. I shook my head, and returned to my position.

"CWEEP! CHWEEK!" A little green face was suddenly all up in mine, and it screeched at the top of its little lungs in excitement, scaring me half to death.

"WHOA, HOLY MILTANK!" I fell backwards, grabbing the side of the pier so I wouldn't fall into the water, but my arms couldn't support me. After a startled chirp, some green vines wrapped around my waist and easily lifted me onto the pier again.

"Whoa, wow..." I gasped on air as the little critter loosened its grip on me, and the little vines retreated into the tiny barbs on its neck. It chirped in an apologetic tone, and I examined the creature. It was a cute little green thing, it had four legs and red eyes and a cute smiling mouth. After apologizing, it giggled and a leaf the size of its body sitting on its head twirled. A sweet aroma wafted from the leaf.

"Oh, thank Arceus, you found her!" Kris Heart's voice came up from behind me, and her hands scooped up the Pokemon, who nuzzled her cheek. Then she noticed me at her feet and gave me a confused look. "What are you doing on the ground?" Kris chuckled slightly, the Pokemon nibbling the side of her hand.

I looked at her incredulously. "Oh, you know, I just realized how soft and cozy the pier is. I've never been more comfortable." I spat with thick sarcasm.

"Really?"

"No! Silly!" I laughed as I got up. Sometimes my sarcasm is so good that no one catches it.

"Oh, ahaha!" She chuckled awkwardly. The green, obviously a grass type Pokemon chirped happily, obviously a jolly little animal. Kris remembered the little fella. "Oh, by the way, I see you've met my new Pokemon, Chikorita!" She held out the little Pokemon. "Isn't she the cutest?"

"Yea, she's adorable! Why didn't you tell me you have a Pokemon?"

"Oh yeah, that's why Ethan and I were trying to find you! Professor Elm needs you!" She jumped up, all excited.

"There you guys are!" Ethan ran up behind Kris, Marill not far behind. Marill squeaked with glee, and Chikorita greeted the blue mouse. "Lyra, goodness, we've been waiting for you for like, all day!"

"You mean a couple of hours, right?" Kris reminded him. He rolled his eyes, obviously not caring.

"Whatever, but come on! We promised Elm that we would come fetch you! Let's go!" He took off down the road, Marill at his heels.

"I'll beat you there!" Kris, carrying the little Chikorita, followed him down to the lab. When she was almost out of sight, she turned around briefly and hollered, "Well, come on Lyra! Hurry up!" Then she turned back around and chased Ethan.

I chuckled, and before I knew it, I was in better spirits and forgot all about my stress, and suddenly found myself smiling, filling lungs with sweet air and my legs were pounding across the ground towards the lab.

The neighbors noticed me chasing after my friends, (Who, having a head-start, had both beat me there.) and noticed me smile, which was a rare sight around town. The people outside waved at me, and as I waved back, they smiled at me, noticing I was happy, and they spoke among themselves as if they were talking about some inside joke.

I slowed down as I neared the Laboratory, going from a run to a jog to a walk. Just as I was about to turn the doorknob, something moving in my peripheral vision had caught my attention. If the figure hadn't moved around the far side of the lab, I probably would've let it go. But my curiosity wouldn't let me, so I tentatively followed.

I slipped around the corner, in an awkward alley between the wall and the trees. I noticed a man, well, a teenager, really, staring into the window of the lab. That's strange. It's an open lab, open for visitors. Why doesn't he just walk in? What is he trying to see?

This guy had long, crimson locks, olive skin and dark cold eyes. He was tall and wore a black jacket and dark jeans and dark shoes. Everything about this kid seemed dark. He leaned on the windowsill, his chin rested on his forearms as his calculating eyes surveyed everything inside.

"So this is the famous Elm Pokemon Lab... Hmph. Not as impressive as I thought it would be." He murmered. I just now realized that I was inching closer to him to listen. Suddenly his head whipped around and those dark cold eyes were on me.

"Can I help you with something?" He growled rudely and sarcastically.

"E-excuse me?"

"What are you staring at?" He asked coldly, turning his body toward me and taking a step forward. My heart started to thump my ribs.

"Sorry, I just... Hey!" His big hand wrapped around my arm, forcing me to be dragged along with his stomping feet. "Hey, what are doing? Quit it!" I struggled against his grip of steel, but to no avail.

"Leave me alone, you little pest." And with that and a swing of his arm, I was thrown down on the grass and dirt. He walked off and resumed his position at the window, seeming to completely forget about the girl he just tossed to the ground.

I wanted so badly to go up to him and give him what for, but instead, swallowed my rage, stood up and shook it off. "The nerve of some people..." I muttered to myself as I brushed the dirt off of my clothes. After I was satisfied, I gave the kid a last glare, though he wasn't even looking, and returned to the door of the lab.

As I turned the doorknob and stepped inside, the assistant, Henry caught sight of me and waved me over.

"Oh, there you are Lyra! Come with me, this way." He gestured with a nod for me to follow and I did as we walked through the hallways. We passed several individual test rooms and offices and at the very end of the hallway was the main research room, where we were headed. I've visited here before plenty of times, when Mrs. Elm asked me to bring the professor his lunch, or when he needed me and my friends to fetch something or just to simply entertain a Pokemon or two while he was recording information on it.

Our footsteps echoed slightly into the vast airy room. The windows in the back let in bright sunlight and a cool breeze. Many books littered the floor and shelves and desks, and the computers and laptops and other equipment beeped and flashed and dinged. Tables were covered in research papers and Pokeballs, empty and occupied. Kris, Chikorita, Ethan and Marill were helping to place the Pokeballs and a few books back onto the shelves. Professor Elm was occupied with typing an email of research findings to another researcher in some region or other, and turned around to see us when Henry coughed.

"Oh, there she is!" Elm said as he stood, straightening his coat before walking forward with an arm outstretched. "How are doing today, Lyra?" He asked, shaking my hand.

"I'm doing very good today sir, how are you?" I returned the greeting with a friendly smile. Elm was a close neighbor, and he was kinda like a distant family member.

"I'm doing quite fine." He answered, standing up straight and turning to lead me into the room. My friends noticed me, and they giggled among themselves. Elm, now standing in the middle of the room, turned to face me. "Lyra, I was conducting some research on how the bonds between Pokemon and people make Pokemon grow stronger. But I have no idea where to start, and no one understands this topic, making it an even more difficult subject to study." Elm began, watching my face intently. "But everyone is quite curious as to why, and I'm quite curious of this as well. After studying some battles, I've taken note that people raise Pokemon differently, and so they grow differently. Some raise with nothing but love, others do no less than train everyday. But what I hope to discover from this research is this; What is the best way to raise a Pokemon? Does friendship make a Pokemon more determined to work for their trainer? Do different Pokemon species or different personalities of a Pokemon determine how difficult it is or isn't to raise said Pokemon? And the point I'm trying to reach here Lyra..." He walked toward a carousel-type machine with two Pokeballs on it.

"The reason I called upon you and your friends here," He was trying to fight back a grin, but I could see it. "I want to give you a Pokemon!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**When I read the reviews, (keep in mind, this is my first story here) I got so excited that I immediately got to typing up chapter two! Thanks guys for liking my story!**

**Okay, I know nothing really exciting happens here, but it's only the beginning, and better parts will come along, more interesting and entertaining chapters. It's just necessary for me to get through all of the beginning parts. To those of you who have played the game, you understand how tiresome it can be to get through the whole intro and "Get your Pokemon and Pokedex" Mission part at the beginning. **

**But, I will update this story as often as I can, I PROMISE! I have a lot of holiday shopping to do, and work and all that ( I know, sorry about the excuses!)!**

**But thank you for enjoying this story, I appreciate it!**

**And I will get to typing that next chapter for y'all! :)**


	3. Chapter Three: Choices and Changes

**Chapter Three - Choices and Changes**

I examined the Pokeballs on the machine. There were three spaces on the carousel, and two Pokeballs occupied the spaces in the back; the one up front, in the middle was empty. Must have beenwhere Chikorita's Pokeball was.

"Go on, just touch one." My blunette friend urged me. She gestured to a little screen above the Pokeballs. "That monitor will show you what Pokemon is in it, and the stats."

I returned to staring at the Pokeballs. Slowly, I lifted my hand and tapped the ball to my left.

The machinery beeped to life, turning the table to bring the ball closer to me. It wiggled, as if the Pokemon inside was excited. The monitor blinked on and the screen showed a dancing blue creature and the stats to the left of the screen.

It was kinda cute. It was small, like Marill and Chikorita. It was a water type, like Marill.

_Like Gyarados..._

And it was blue.

_Blue like the shining scales of a murderous Gyarados..._

And he had red eyes.

_Like the blood-red raging eyes of a murderous Gyarados..._

And the teeth.

_Like the teeth that tore your father apart..._

And a happy excited grin.

_Like the satisfied grin of the Gyarados, who had your father's flesh stuck in his jaw..._

I now realized that I was hyperventilating, and stepping backwards slowly away from the Pokemon. Even though it was in a Pokeball, and even though it was far from a Gyarados and probably had a great personality and would undoubtedly be a great partner for me and any other trainer, it still bothered me that this adorable creature still seemed so similar to the monster of my past. And it scared me.

_Would my past ever stop haunting me?_

_Will it ever stop influencing my life?_

_Will I ever stop suffering?_

Ethan's hands, warm and comforting grabbed my shoulders. They all must have seen my face change from being excited about getting a Pokemon to becoming terrified of this Pokemon before me. Ethan seemed to understand.

"Lyra, it's ok. It's not a Gyarados. If you don't want that Pokemon, there's another one beside it." He rubbed my shoulders, trying to reassure me, but I broke away from him. I leapt forward to the machine, and ripped the other Pokeball out of the machine, not even bothering to see what was in it.

"I'll take this one." I declared, holding up the red and white ball. Elm just stared at me, unsure of what to do with my reaction to the first one, or my rash choice to take this Pokemon, rather than make a long well-planned-out decision of my new partner.

"Are you sure? Remember, this is you partner..." Elm started to lecture me.

"I want this one." I interrupted, the ball still in my hand.

"Lyra, this is your future partner we're dealing with here. Don't just pick a Pokemon at random, take some time to think about-,"

"I. Am. Taking. This. One." I said with absolute finality. He stared me down, and I returned the stare, letting him know that I have made my decision. He finally backed down.

"I see. Well then, on that hand," He stepped forward, all serious-like... Until a smile broke through. "Congratulations, Lyra! Now you're an official Pokemon Trainer!" His hands spread in a wide joyous arc and he laughed. My friends joined in and gave me a big huge group hug, and I hugged them all back. After a series of congratulations from them, the professor and the assistant, they urged me to open the Pokeball.

"Well, ok. Here goes." I said as I lifted the red object. "Let's see what I got." And with that, I pressed the button, and after a bright flash, I met my new partner.

The little fire type watched me.

And I watched him.

And he growled at me.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**We're getting somewhere, I promise! I hope you guys are enjoying this!**

**If possible, PLEASE SEND HELPFUL CRITICISM! I want this story to be the best that it can be, so please let me know if there is anything I can do to make this story better.**

**Well, that's it! We now have chapter three, so unto chapter four!**

**:)**

**And I'm sorry it's so short.**


	4. Chapter Four: Just Another Errand

**Chapter Four - Just Another Errand**

"Ugh, what do you want from me!?" Professor Elm threw his hands up in the air, obviously exasperated as his computer beeped repeatedly every four seconds. The person he was emailing must have been really excited about something. He slammed his hands on the keyboard, and typed back some kind of response, only to shriek in frustration and throw his arms up, reading the email, and then delelting his entire message, and start over. I, on the other hand, was busy with my own situation.

"Hey, sweetie, it's ok..." I tried to talk soothingly to the Cyndaquil that glared at me from a distance. It barked at me, then lowered its head, growling in a defensive stance.

"It's not you, Lyra." Ethan promised. "Not every Pokemon is going to like you immediately. It takes time."

"Yea, it's not your fault." Kris added.

"But when Marill was Azurill, y'all were best friends immediately, and Chikorita had no problem with Kris." I mentioned, still trying to act kind to the irritating Pokemon before me. It threatened to attack me by baring it's (not as impressive as the Totodile's) teeth.

"Y'all will become friends... Eventually." Ethan said, patting my back.

"Well, Totodile is friendly, but he apparently is intimidating to you." Elm said, walking toward us. "But though Cyndaquil isn't as scary looking, he is kind of a loner and has a bit of a temper. I apologize, Lyra. I should've picked a better set for you to chose from. Friendly, gentle sweet Pokemon that don't make you uncomfortable..." Elm started to mutter to himself, then went back to me. "I wanted to give you a Pokemon to cheer you up so you're never sad or alone anymore, and to help with my research, but..."

"Oh no, Professor, it's fine! I'm really glad you gave me a Pokemon!" I reassured him. "I just... Like Ethan said, it will take some time..."

Chikorita and Marill come over and inched toward Cyndaquil, though Chikorita was more comfortable. They each greeted the lonely fire-type, who just sat back quietly. After the greetings, they started speaking in the little secret foreign language of theirs.

"Where did you get these Pokemon from?" I asked, really curious.

Elm pondered for a moment, then answered as he typed up a new email. "I got Chikorita from a collector buddy of mine. I got Totodile from a breeder of rare Pokemon in Sinnoh. Cyndaquil..." He paused and waved his hand in circles as he thought of how to explain this. "I caught Cyndaquil in the woods. He was in pretty bad shape when I found him. He was beaten and scared and shivering. I threw the Pokeball and caught him, and when I let him out, I noticed he had a collar. But if he belonged to another trainer, the the Pokeball wouldn't have worked. So his original trainer disowned him, and obviously didn't take any good care of him." Elm paused in his story, but I urged him on, really curious. "Cyndaquil didn't deserve that treatment. I decided to take him in and let one of you take care of him."

"So that's probably why he doesn't like me. He just doesn't like people." I said slowly. At Elm's story, I noticed that Cyndaquil winced a few times and whimpered. "Oh, it's ok sweetie, it's ok. I would never hurt you." I promised him. Cyndaquil just growled again, but less threatening, more of a "whatever" kinda growl.

"I'm sure you'll find some way to bond, one way or another." Kris encouraged, and Ethan nodded. Cyndaquil just glared.

"Kids, could you come here for a second?" Professor Elm waved us over, and we crowded around his desk.

"I just received an email from an acquaintance of mine. Everyone calls him Mr. Pokemon-,"

"Mr. Pokemon!?" Ethan snorted, and I stifled a giggle. Kris was not so subtle.

"Yea, I know! Silly, right?" Elm said, then regained his purpose. "Anyway, Mr. Pokemon loves mysteries and treasures and rare things and basically anything Pokemon related. He is constantly boasting about his 'discoveries' and claiming that he has a collection of rare items. I mean sure, he does have some really cool toys and other goodies, but usually he just has junk." The Professor explained, and was rolling his eyes at this point. "And he's emailing me about this really cool rarity and he wants me to come get it right away. But I can't because I'm working on this whole Trainer-Pokemon-Bond research thing!" He flipped his hands in the air, exasperated. I usually wonder if the guy got enough sleep at night. "But, that's where my trusty young neighbors come in!" He pointed at us with both hands and a stupid smile on his face. "I bet you can guess what I need you for!" He sang. "But if you can't, then you're stupid."

"Then call me stupid." Said Ethan.

"Okay, Stupid, I need you three to go to his house and pick up this little wonder for me so I can research it." He said flatly. "Mr. Pokemon lives on Route 30, just past Cherrygrove. It's not too far, but tell your parents that you're headed there so I don't get an angry crowd of parents come asking me where in the world their kids went."

"Oh, well now I feel stupid." Ethan said with his hand slapping his forehead and us girls laughed.

"Don't worry Professor, we got this!" Kris promised as she gathered her Chikorita in her arms.

"Yea, we'll get that, uh, thingy for you." Ethan said as he lifted Marill who climbed on his head.

"We will take care of it!" I reached for Cyndaquil, but he just hissed and put on a face that very simply said, "Don't even think about it kid." I surrendered and just settled for letting him follow me around on the ground.

"Well then head on out. It's a far walk, but you should be back by tonight. Just let your parents know where you're going." And with that he spun around back to his computer to alert Mr. Pokemon of our coming. Henry escorted us to the door.

"Oh, kids, before you go..." He turned to a pile of boxes by the door, and fumbled around inside of one. After the blind search and a few grunts, he pulled out a few bottles and passed them out to us. "Here you go. These are potions, just in case. Always make sure you have a few of these around, because you never know when you might need one. Oh, and if you see a wild Pokemon, by all means, let your Pokemon battle it!" We thanked the assistant, and went home to pack a few things and tell our parents of the errand.

I walked up to my doorstep and found the little Cyndaquil walking a good distance from my feet. I don't mean I pity him, but I realize his past is complicated and I feel bad for him.

I turned the doorknob to find my mother watching some TV drama that she obviously didn't care for. She constantly flipped through channels, her face growing from bored, very bored, somewhat intrigued, bored and "Oh-my-Arceus-kill-me-now!" bored.

"Hey Mom." I greeted her as I pulled out my yellow messenger bag and stuffed some potions into it. Her head perked up then went back to resting.

"Hey Honey. How are you?" She said with a glance at me.

"I'm fine. Cyndaquil's not." I muttered.

"Cyndaquil?" Mom asked with a funny face and a confused tone. "What are you talk-,"

"HIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!" Cyndaquil started hissing and growling at Mom, who had just about fallen to the floor in extreme surprise, her face easily in shock and kinda in fear of the little grey thing shooting flames out of it's back. She regained her posture after Cyndaquil decided that she wasn't a threat, and he started to explore the stairs.

"What the hell was that thing, Lyra? My Arceus, I nearly had a heart attack!" She said, pointing in the direction Cyndaquil went.

"His name is Puffy-Fluffy, isn't he just the most adorable thing you ever seen?" I rolled my eyes.

She obviously didn't appreciate my sarcasm, and she still gestured to the stairs. "Why. Is. That. Pokemon. In. My. House?"

I shrugged. "Well, Mom..." I looked off into that direction where my partner went. I sighed. "I'm a trainer now, it seems."

Mom's face was no longer scolding.

"Surprise!" I said rather sheepishly. Mom scoffed, and put her hand to her forehead.

"Bloody hell, Lyra, where in the hell did you get a Pokemon?" She sat back down, trying to take this in.

"Professor Elm gave me that Cyndaquil. That's why Ethan and Krystal were trying to find me." I explained with a shrug. "Now the professor wants us three to get some item from this guy who lives past Cherrygrove City, and we'll be back by tonight, I promise."

"You expect me to let you go out of town for the day with a Pokemon like that, to some place where if you got into trouble, I wouldn't know where to find you?"

"That's why Ethan and Kris are coming. Their Pokemon like them, and Ethan is experienced somewhat. Besides, safety in numbers, right?" I presented my arguement.

Mom looked down and sighed, shaking her head from side to side slowly. It took her a few moments to finally look up, and even then she paused before she spoke. "Don't you remember what happened last time I let you leave my sight?" She said quickly in a hushed tone. My heart suddenly fell, but I caught myself, and I couldn't help pausing before I spoke.

"Of course I remember, Mama. How can I forget it!? It haunts my dreams and everything I do!" I spat bitterly. Mom still didn't look convinced that she should let me go. "Mom, come on. I have a Pokemon to protect me, somewhat, and my friends do too. I can do this Mama. The professor needs me."

She still watched my face. "There are Pokemon out there, Lyra."

"No Gyarados."

"How do you know that?"

"There's no lake out there big enough for one. I'll be fine, Mama. I promise."

She still watched me closely as the gears in her brain attempted to think up an excuse, any possible excuse that would make me not go anywhere, but she came up empty. "Well, it does sound important, so you should help the professor out." She surrendered. "Oh yea, by the way, guess what just came back from the repair shop!" She said as she scooted the box on the table towards me. "Ta-da!"

"Thanks Mom!" I said as I pulled out the newly repaired Pokegear, shining like new. "Wow, it looks better than when we bought it!"

"Yea, those People can sure work wonders." She agreed. "Well, go get your stuff and head out, Honey, if you're headed somewhere."

"Right." I bounded up the stairs to my bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and when I walked I could tell why. Cyndaquil was curled up on my bed, snoring lightly. He stretched and squeaked several times, but didn't wake up yet. I shook my head, watching the little guy. "I've only known you for a few hours, and so far, you're a pain in my ass, but you sure are cute." I whispered to the little dude, who gave no sign that he could hear me.

I packed the rest of the potions, some girly necessities like my hairbrush and deodorant and perfume and a little mirror. I tied my Pokegear to a strap on my bag and took my shoes off. Just as I suspected; I had dirt in my socks and shoes and a rock too from when that asshole threw me into the ground. I sighed and shook earth's contents out of my red slip-on shoes, and I tossed my old socks in a hamper, and dusted off my feet.

A growl came from above my head, and when I looked up, on my bed, Cyndaquil was watching me again with a steady snarl. I shook my head and ignored him. Obviously offended of me ignoring him, he barked and jumped down and stood in front of me, growling and snarling, but it wasn't really intimidating.

"You know, you're not that scary. I've seen worse." I said as I reached in a drawer beside me for another pair of stockings. Cyndaquil first squeaked but then barked and went back to, what else was he good at, growling. I shook my head.

"And if you think I'm talking about Totodile, then you definitely have no idea." I gestured to my legs, and Cyndaquil couldn't help but look, and when he noticed the discoloration, his growling slowly halted and became a curious squeak. I nodded.

"Hard to believe a water-type can give harsher burns than you can, but there is your evidence." As I slipped on my socks, I told Cyndaquil my story. I didn't care if he cared or not; he just had to understand that I wasn't afraid of him, but something bigger. "Three years ago, on my twelfth birthday, my dad took me to the Lake of Rage. It was a really cool tourist attraction with really cool Pokemon in the area. Dad was a Pokemon ranger, a top ranger. His partner pokemon was Pidgeot, the most heroic, awesome bird out there, no doubt about it." I watched Cyndaquil, who was still in a stance, his growling just a quiet background hum. "When we got there, everything was calm, but as evening fell, it started to rain. I don't know if it was the rain or something else that caused them to go insane, but the Gyarados started to flip out and attack everything that moved." I paused to swallow back whatever was choking me up. Cyndaquil was still standing defensively, but he wasn't growling anymore; he was actually listening. "Dad tried to contact the other rangers, and I hid behind a tree, but the Gyarados kept us apart. I-I... I saw my dad get killed right in front of me. By a Pokemon. Pidgeot lost blood fighting them, and when he tried to get me to a safe location, he died. In my arms." I coughed, trying to get rid of whatever was in my throat, choking me up, but it was nothing. Cyndaquil relaxed his stance and sat, but he was still tense. I swallowed as best I could, but my voice was still hoarse. "You're not that scary, Cyndaquil. I've been attacked by worse."

I slipped on my shoes roughly, and grabbed my bag and stood by the door. "Come on. We're going." Cyndaquil, instead of growling, silently followed me, but from a safe distance.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow, this chapter was long! But I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm glad you guys are supporting me here, and I'm grateful for the kind and helpful reviews!**

**And here is chapter four completed! I hope you guys don't think that I don't have a life or anything because I keep updating this once everyday. It's not that, it's just Christmas break, and I have nothing to do, because I got all the shopping done, the wrapping done and I'm pretty much finished until the day of so...**

**Well thanks for reading guys!**

**Prepare for the next one! :)**


	5. Chapter Five: Treasures and Troubles

** Chapter Five - Treasures and Troubles**

I jogged up to my friends. Kris was wearing her red sneakers, her black and yellow baseball shorts that showed off her long legs, a light pink tank top and a white longsleeve cover-up. She had her yellow cap and her light blue hair done up in pigtails. Kris was very athletic and pretty and loveable. She is my best friend, but sometimes being around her lowers my self-esteem. Her thin body was hard muscle; my thin body was soft muscle.

Ethan had on his casual shorts, his sneakers, his typical red jacket and his black and yellow hat stuck to his head, worn backwards as always. Sometimes I wonder if he was born with that hat. His black bangs peeked out from under the hat.

"For Arceus's sake, Lyra, you are so slow sometimes." Ethan chuckled as I came up behind him and Kris, who had their bags ready to go.

"Shut up Ethan." I punched him lightly in the arm as I joined my trio. "So, I'm going to assume y'all are ready to go?" I asked as I adjusted my bag. Cyndaquil was behind me now.

"Yea let's go." Kris nodded her head toward the road, and we followed. Just before our feet touched the imaginary border between New Bark Town and Route 29, an all too familiar professor stopped us.

"Wait kids! Hold up!" He panted, catching up to us. "I, ugh, need to to, ugh, huh, give you guys my number..." He breathed heavily, taking our Pokegears, and registering his number on them, and we registered our numbers on his. "Ok, you're free to go now." He rushed back into the lab.

"That guy needs to chill sometimes." Kris commented the professor's randomness. I chuckled and agreed.

"The man works a lot, he probably never sleeps. Poor guy." I replied. I noticed we were missing a member as we walked away. "Hey where's Ethan?" I turned around and found him a few yards behind. He was just standing there, staring at something. He didn't even notice us ahead of him.

"Ethan? Ethan, come on!" I yelled.

"We have to go Ethan! Let's go!" Kris hollered at him. We finally had his attention, and he looked at us with a blank face. He noticed the distance between us, and he jogged after us.

"Sorry, I just... Noticed something." He said as he caught up to us.

"For Arceus's sake, Ethan, you are so slow sometimes." I told him with my eyes rolling, and then laughed, and Kris giggled at my side. Ethan paused before getting it, then he just smiled and shook his head.

"You girls are crazy." Then he called for Marill who, for some reason, was in a tree. When we were all together, we continued walking down the road out of New Bark Town.

Ethan pulled out his Pokegear and gestured to it. "Y'all want to listen to some music?" He offered. We were all pretty tolerant about different genres of music, but we had our favorites. Ethan prefered rap and dubstep, basically anything he could dance to. He may not look it, but he's a pretty badass dancer. Kris was more of a pop junkie, anything catchy and girly. I was more of an acoustic person; Dad played acoustic guitar, and I remember he wrote some songs for me, and he gave me a few lessons. Anything acoustic was my favorite, but I also like country and some rock. Pop got annoying after a while, and depending on the artist, sometimes rap was annoying too. But I would tolerate it anyway for my friends.

"Sure, what songs you got?" Kris leaned over his shoulder, reading his playlist.

"I downloaded some new songs yesterday. Let's see... Oh, I like this one!" He hit play, and some tune came on where the dudes were rapping too fast for me. I couldn't keep up with anything that they were saying, but Ethan was rapping some incomprehensible words in time with the artist, so I assumed he knew what they were saying. Either way, it entertained us for the walk.

Cyndaquil, walking closer than before, but still not close enough to show we were friends, seemed to trapped in his thoughts. His head was down, and he trudged rather than walked, dragging his feet along the dirt and he was slightly mumbling, as if talking to himself.

"Hey, Cyndaquil, are you ok?" I turned to my Pokemon, who mildly looked up and gave quick nod before returning to his thinking pose. I sighed slightly, and continued forward, but then I turned around back to him. "Cyndaquil, what's bothering you?" He looked up this time, a little bit more aware, but just shook his head and started to walk ahead of me. I walked faster to catch up, but I let it go.

"Chikorita, tackle it!" Kris's voice rang from ahead, and I jogged to catch up with my friends. When I got up there, Ethan was standing back with his arms crossed, Marill was trying to mimic him with his stubby little arms, and they were watching Kris. Kris and Chikorita were battling some odd squirrel looking thing. "Chikorita, move out of the way!"

Chikorita dodged the Pokemon's claws, and then came back to tackle it. She tried to tackle it again, but missed, and was scratched by the Pokemon.

Ethan shook his head and chuckled. "That's pretty sad if you can't beat a Sentret. Marill and I have beaten plenty of those." Marill slapped his chest and grunted as if that proved something.

"Shut up Ethan! You're messing me up!" Kris yelled back at him. "Chikorita, Razor Leaf!" Chikorita did as she was told, and whipped her pretty little leaf around, sending sharp leaves flying everywhere. Sentret grunted in pain.

"Finish it with Vine Whip!" Chikorita shot vines from her neck, and slapped the squirrel repeatedly, until finally, it fainted.

"Nice." I commented, and high-fived her for her first knock-out.

"Don't congratulate me, praise Chikorita! great job girl!" Kris high-fived her Pokemon's leaf. Ethan and Marill just rolled their eyes in the background.

"Please, that Sentret was too easy. Marill and I can take on twenty, no, FIFTY of those!" He said in a cocky tone, and Marill imitated him by copying his pose, head held high and arms crossed. Well, Marill's weren't crosses, but they were across his chest, so , close enough. Kris seemed ever so slightly angered by this comment.

"Well then, Ethan, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and battle me?" Kris called out openly, her hands held wide, daring him to challenge her. Ethan raised a brow.

"Really? That's an interesting proposition..." Ethan rubbed his chin, dramatically in thought. He laughed and said, "Alright, bring it on Kris. Lyra, you be the referee. Let's get out of the grass first." We all marched free of the tall long grass and back to the dirt road path.

"We're pretty close to Cherrygrove by now, right?" I asked Ethan. He nodded.

"Yea, and just as soon as I defeat Kris in battle, we'll get there." Kris turned around quickly at that last comment.

"I AM SO GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" She screamed behind his head and he laughed, ever so amused.

"Alright, alright guys. Let's get this over with so we can get the rare item." I said, hurrying them. Cyndaquil watched them from his position near my feet.

"Yea, let's get this over with." Kris agreed, and Chikorita chirped. Ethan grinned and Marill mocked his trainer.

"You both are ready?" I asked the both of them, who nodded, to which I shrugged and replied. "Fight away."

"Marill, tackle!" Ethan's voice rose above the noises in the woods, and thus the battle had begun.

* * *

It was a thrashing, tiring battle that took a long time, and through the fury of leaves and vines and water and clashing bodies and grunts and cries of pain, both Pokemon lay in the dirt, fainted.

"It's... a tie?" Ethan asked with disbelief, looking at me. Kris was just as speechless as she held her Chikorita. I shrugged, and tried to think of why.

"Well, both Pokemon are down so, it's a tie..." I started, hand behind my head as I processed this. "It looks like Ethan had the advantage by level, and Kris had the advantage by type, but... You guys were too equal, I guess." I watched their disappointed and stunned faces. "Y'all aren't satisfied at all, are you?"

They both shook their heads, and I shrugged.

"Well then guys, I guess y'all are gonna have to train harder and have a rematch. Right now, let's keep going to Cherrygrove. Cyndaquil and I will fight anything that pops up on the way, won't we Cyndaquil?" He just stared at me, and gave a reluctant bark. My friends gathered their now waking Pokemon in their arms, and we continued down the road.

Lucky for me and Cyndaquil, nothing attacked us and we made it to Cherrygrove City safely. The breeze sending forth flowery aromas awoke our Pokemon, and suddenly they were sniffing all of the flowers and playing. Well, except for my shy Cyndaquil. He just watched the flowers dance in the breeze.

"Yo ho! Well what's this? A group of young rookie trainers I see?" The voice came from an old man making his way toward us, a hand over his head as he inspected us from a distance. Cyndaquil jumped up and hid behind my legs, a low growl humming at his mouth. Chikorita and Kris greeted the man, and Ethan and Marill followed suit. I just kinda hung back and gave a slight wave, letting my friends do their own thing.

"Yea, is it that obvious?" Kris asked, looking awkward. Ethan picked up Marill in his arms as the old man chuckled and nodded.

"Oh, don't you worry children! Everybody's a rookie at some point or another! Hahaha!" The old man let out a hearty laugh. "Well than, rookies, why don't I show you a few useful things? I know a place where your Pokemon can rest. What was it that you youngsters were battling?" He asked, examining the health of Marill and Chikorita. They were better, but not perfect. "Aye, must have been a monster."

"Yea, the biggest, most vicious monster out there." Ethan agreed. "They call her Kris, with deadly locks of blue and teeth of a Sharpedo, she is as soulless as a Shedinja, and-," Kris's hand caused a hard _Smack!_ against Ethan's skull. His mouth was agape, and he turned to look at her with his gold eyes bugged out of his head aiming at her. "Ow!" She just smugly grinned at him, her _Sharpedo teeth_ bared sarcastically. The old man laughed a hearty, cheerful, amused laugh at my two friends.

"Well now, look who already have rivals! Ah, the joys of traveling among friends!" The jolly fellow chuckled as my friends eyed each other, obviously taking a liking to that title. I could see in their eyes that they decided _rivals_ fit them well. "What great times you kids will have! Ahaha! Well now, where are you headed?" He asked, kindly trying to help us.

"Mr. Pokemon's house. Professor Elm wanted us to get there and fetch something for him." I responded, and the old man nodded.

"Well, you kids should drop by the Pokemon Center first, rest your Pokemon for a moment, and then I'll direct you all to Route 30." The old man gestured for us to follow him, and he led us to the big red roof building.

"Okay, you kids go on ahead and talk to the nurse. She's a nice lady, and she'll take care of your Pokemon for you. I'll wait in the lobby and show you all where Route 30 is when you're finished up here." The old man explained, and we all went through the sliding glass doors.

It was a pretty quiet place, there was a counter where a pink-haired woman with her hands tapping busily at a computer sat with Pokeballs behind her, a Chansey entering and exiting through the door behind her. Ethan scanned her up and down like the pervert he was, until he noticed the ring. Then he looked all disappointed. I nudged him on his shoulder.

"It's ok, man. She probably wasn't interested anyway." I snorted after walking away. He looked at me as I strutted off with an offended look on his face.

"Well she might have been!" He said behind me, to which I replied that he was probably too young for her taste. He just dismissed me and he and Kris went up to the counter to let their Pokemon heal. Cyndaquil didn't really do anything, he was still as healthy as when I got him, so he just followed me to the sofas by the TV in the waiting room. I found the old man sitting there, watching the programs.

I sat down in a plush, orange sofa and Cyndaquil kind of sat near my feet. He didn't try to distance himself from me deliberately, but he sat a good foot away. He wasn't growling anymore, but when I adjusted my feet he flinched and gave a sudden hiss, until he realized I was settling down and not trying to kick him or anything. The old man noticed.

"Is your Pokemon hostile towards you?" He asked curiously. I shrugged and watched the grey mouse stare up at me.

"Not so much as opposed to an hour or so ago. But he isn't exactly warming up to me yet." I explained, still watching Cyndaquil for any kind of reaction. He just watched me blankly.

"Do you know why he is uncomfortable around you?" He asked, sitting forward earnestly.

I shrugged and thought about it, and then replied to the man. "Well, the professor, the man who gave me this Cyndaquil, told me that this Pokemon had a rough past. Meaning that he had a trainer who didn't care for him much at all." I watched Cyndaquil, who tensed, but didn't try to stop me. "I guess Cyndaquil doesn't like humans, because a human did him wrong." He grunted, as if to tell me that I had figured it out. "You just don't trust people very well, do you now?" I asked the little critter at my feet, who just squeaked.

"And I'm guessing that by those burns and scars your leg, a Pokemon has done you wrong." This made me look at him funny, and when I checked my leg, I noticed my left sock had rolled down. I immediately pulled it back up, and gazed over at the elderly man, who raised a brow. He was much more aware of his surroundings that I had anticipated.

"Yea. A Pokemon has done me wrong. After that, the only Pokemon I trusted was my friend's Marill." I answered, looking down. The man grunted.

"Well, Cyndaquil doesn't trust most humans, and you don't trust most Pokemon." He simply stated. I looked up at him, and he raised another brow. "Two unlikely partners, and somehow, you two were brought together... Coincidence?" The man was implying something. When I didn't answer, the man urged me to tell the story. "What Pokemon attacked you?"

At first, I just stared with wide eyes, like a Stantler in headlights. I gaped and sighed, vaguely explaining what happened. "Gyarados. Gyarados attacked me three years ago." I just said, and he raised a brow, urging me to tell more detail. "...And they killed my dad and his Pokemon." Both brows raised up in interest, and his mouth was slightly open. He leaned back and watched my expression.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It was a long time ago."

He still watched me and Cyndaquil scooted slightly closer to see my downcast face. He squeaked slightly.

I heard the old man sigh. "I can imagine Cyndaquil having a similar past and reason to not like humans. I imagine that a human took him away from his family, and treated him cruelly, and beat him and punished him for no good reason. You didn't do anything wrong to deserve having to have your father taken away, and Cyndaquil didn't do anything to deserve a cruel trainer." The old man explained. "I think fate brought you two together to show you that people and Pokemon can be forgiven. To show each other that not everyone or everything is evil." I looked at Cyndaquil in a new light. "Promise me something."

"Yes?"

"Promise me that you will take care of this Pokemon, and protect him to the best of your ability. Promise me that this Pokemon will be loved under your care." The man asked. I nodded vigorously.

"I promise I will never hurt him, and take the best care of him that I can!"

"Good." As the old man responded, my friends walked in with their now energetic Pokemon.

"You ready to go Lyra?" Kris asked me, and I nodded, adjusting my bag onto my shoulder, and Cyndaquil got up.

"Well then, children, follow me." The guide got up as well, and he lead us out the door and back outside.

"This blue building it the PokeMart. You'll need to stop there and get supplies sometimes. Over there is the Cherrygrove beach. Some Pokemon are only found in the ocean." The gentleman was pointing out useful things to us, letting us know what's going on and where to go in a certain situation.

"And here, children, here is Route 30, where young trainers are, well, training their Pokemon and such." He pointed to a large open path, undiscovered by our fresh minds. "Mr. Pokemon lives just to the north of here. If you get really lost, though I doubt it, there's an apricorn maniac down there too, he'll give you directions as well."

"Thank you sir." Kris said, shaking his hand, and Ethan and I thanked him too.

"Oh, kids, one more thing." He fumbled in his pocket for a second, and brought out three cards and handed them out to us. "If you put these in your Pokegears, it'll show you a map of the region. These are map cards, and you just slip them in like so..." He inserted the card into mine, and Kris and Ethan put theirs in. "There. You kids have a safe trip now." We bid him farewell, and thanked him for hid kindness. Then we turned to the route.

"Well, let's go!" Kris took the lead, and we followed him through the grass with our Pokemon by our side.

Well, it wasn't that long before she got us lost.

After a series of circles and arguments and smart-mouthed comments, the apricorn guy had to give us directions, and then forced us to sit through a lecture about apricorns, and he gave me a basket (he gave the other's one too, but out of frustration, they threw theirs away.), and then we went up the path.

Kris started to take the lead again, but Ethan put a hand to stop her. "Uh, no. I don't think so." And then he took the lead mumbling something about how women have no sense of direction. We walked forward until the sounds of a battle caught our ears, and we just wanted to peek.

"Hey, isn't that Joey?" I pointed out. Kris nodded a little bit, but Ethan shrugged.

"I know three Joeys, which one are you talking about?"

"Joey, you know, the professor's son?"

Ethan squinted, then recognition spread across his face. "Oh yea! That kid!" He nodded while watching the battle. There were two boys, one of them Joey Elm and then some other kid, and Joey had his Rattata fighting a Pidgey. "I've always wondered why he just has a Rattata while his dad's a Pokemon professor, who could get his hands on something cool for him."

"Oh, that's because Joey caught Rattata on his own." Kris explained. "He felt special because he didn't have a gift Pokemon, and that he caught his."

"Huh. Cool, I guess." Ethan shrugged, and we all turned back to the path with the sign that read, 'Mr. Pokemon's House.'

Nothing really attacked us, only one Weedle who was easily handled by Chikorita, trying to show off to her trainer. Kris praised her Pokemon, and they got out of the grass and headed to the house that sat before them, shrouded in trees.

"Is that the place?" Ethan asked. I facepalmed.

"Gee, I don't know Ethan, why don't you ask that sign right there, behind your butt, that says, 'Mr. Pokemon's House, Welcome!'?" I shook my head and walked up to the house, being followed by Kris, who snickered. Ethan just shrugged, his face obviously offended.

I knocked on the door, and was greeted by a guy in a suit and a well-trimmed mustache. He kind of looked like the Monopoly Guy...

"Hi, are you Mr. Pokemon?" Kris asked, her hand out to shake.

The man rolled his eyes. "No, I'm the Monopoly Guy!" Holy Miltank, I knew it. "Yes ma'am, I am the man you are looking for. I presume that you are the kids the professor sent to me?" We all nodded, and the man welcomed us in and led us to a couch as he inspected one of his many shelves. "Which one of you is Lyra? The professor told me to give my treasure to you because you are the most responsible." He looked at us, and I stood, indicating that I was Lyra. Mr. Pokemon nodded, and went back to opening the glass door.

"So, what is this treasure, Mr. Pokemon?" Kris asked.

"You'll see in a moment."

"How is Lyra the responsible one?" Ethan asked. Mr. Pokemon looked at him.

"You must be Ethan?"

"Yep."

Mr. Pokemon's eyes squinted. "The professor warned me about you..." He whispered, actually hissed more so, and Ethan gave us some kind of confused look. The man went back to the shelf and took out a round object. He took it over to me slowly and carefully, gently placing it in my arms.

"This... This is an egg I received from some friends of mine in Ecruteak. Professor Elm is one of the best researchers, highly qualified in the evolutionary subjects, and since hatching is a form of evolution, I would like to have him research this egg." I looked down at the egg. It was big, no bigger than Cyndaquil, but not much smaller. And it was warm... I held it close to my chest and protected it with my arms.

"So, these are the kids who are helping Professor elm, eh?" We looked over to see a second man, a man with short white hair, and he was tall, but old. He stood up and walked over to us, and inspected our Pokemon at our feet. Well, Marill was in Ethan's lap and Chikorita in Kris's lap, but Cyndaquil was at my feet because the egg was in my arms. As if he'd actually sit in my lap. "What a dependable looking group of young adults." The man commented, and he extended a hand to Ethan first. "Hello, I'm Professor Oak of the Kanto region." He smiled cordially, and shook each of our hands.

"Wa-wait? You're Professor Oak? _The_ Professor Oak!?" Kris asked.

Oak nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"It's such an honor to meet you sir!" I said, hugging the egg closer to myself.

"Everyone admires your research! I am very impressed by your discoveries!" Kris said.

"How many Pokemon do you think there are in the world?" Ethan asked, to which the professor shrugged.

"I'm afraid I have no idea. So far, we have discovered around a few more than six hundred Pokemon scattered through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova. We haven't exactly discovered every Pokemon in the world yet, or made contact with the rest of the regions yet, but we are still going to research and discover until we can't discover any more." The man answered. He inspected us. "Like I said earlier, you kids seem dependable. I would like to ask you," He dug around in his pockets and brought out three devices. "Can you kids carry around a Pokedex and help with my research?"

Our jaws dropped at the random request.

...

"Uh... sure..." Ethan said hesitantly, taking the Pokedex gingerly.

"I want one!" Kris asked, taking hers.

"I heard you are the most responsible out of the three." The professor commented as he handed one to me. Then he straightened up. "Alright, kids, I hope you can help me with discovering new Pokemon, because with all of the new discoveries, I need more young, energetic and intelligent people to help me discover and capture information on the Pokemon of the world. I have many people carrying these devices, and I really need your help. I hope I can rely on you. After all, Elm, when he emailed me some research, he would mention you kids sometimes. I actually have been looking forward to meeting you three for a while. He said you three care a lot for Pokemon and are a very curious group." Then he cast his eyes on me. "Brave too, from what I have heard." Then he looked back at all of us. "I figured I'd wait for you three here when I heard Elm sent you three here. I'm sorry this is rushed, but I kind of have to go. I'm late for my radio show. Sorry about the brief visit, but it was a real pleasure talking to you!" He rushed outside and the door shut behind him.

Mr. Pokemon typed Mr. Elm a confirmation email, and then showed us to the door. "You kids stay safe now!" He waved us off.

"Wow! Can you believe we just met the most famous and successful professor in all the regions!?" Kris said excitedly, checking out her new toy. "How cool..."

"I know right!" Ethan agreed. "He seemed cool."

"Cool beans, we got Pokedexes!" I said as I waved mine around. Ethan's Pokegear ringtone rang through the woods.

He picked it up and checked who it was. "It's the professor..." He clicked the speaker button and answered it. "Hello? Professor Elm!?"

"OH YOU KIDS, THIS IS AWFUL!" The man was hollering, obviously riled up about something. "I-IT WAS... I-I-I DON'T... I-IT..." The man was having stutter issues.

Ethan snapped. "Spit it Professor!"

"What's the matter sir?" Kris asked.

"HE! IT! DURR!" He still stuttered and spat, but finally something comprehensive came out of his mouth. "HURRY UP AND GET HERE! IT'S A CRISIS! AN EMERGENCY! HELP! GET BACK HERE _NOW_!" And then the line went dead. Kris was already halfway gone.

"Come on guys! Let's go, go, GO!" She screamed back at us, and then turned back around and ran off into the distance with Chikorita.

"Lyra let's go!" He slapped my back and took off, Marill at his feet.

"Cyndaquil, come on!" I tightened my grip on the egg, and he ran alongside me as fast as his four limbs could carry him.

Let's see what kind of trouble we can get into.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**First off, so sorry about not updating this sooner. I had a lot, and I mean, A LOT of cleaning to do because my house looked like Christmas vomitted everywhere, but with the help of Almond Joy flavored coffee, I managed to pull it off and lived to tell the tale.**

**Secondly, I'm sorry the ending was rushed, I just wanted to get past this part and get to... (*Cue Dramatic Music*) THE FIGHT WITH THE RIVAL! DUN DUN DUUUUNNN! lmao i am such a dork.**

**And holy cow, was this chapter long! Sorry about me being lazy, but what do you expect from me?**

**Maybe I should drink more coffee, because I make more progress drinking coffee...**

**Anyway, please review! Tell me what you think! Let me know if there is anything I need to fix!**

**Until next time, see you later!**

**And I'll try to make things more interesting from here on out!**


	6. Chapter Six: Fighting Flames of Foes

**Chapter Six: Fighting Flames of Foes**

Cyndaquil darted in front of me any time a wild Pokémon jumped out at me. Oh sure, now they wanted to show up, when I did _not_ have the time to deal with them. Cyndaquil didn't fight them, he just barked loudly and viciously, and after they ran off crying to their Pokémon mommies, he would run alongside me, snarling to warn everything else that wanted to slow us down that they'd better reconsider. Cyndaquil seemed desperate to get to the lab, and who wouldn't be? After hearing Elm's incredibly hysterical voice, Cyndaquil and I realized the urgency of the situation, whatever it was, and were sprinting toward the lab as fast as our legs could carry us.

We darted around the grass, and jumped a few ledges, heading straight in the direction of Cherrygrove City. Eventually, we could smell the flowers and the sea breeze telling us that we were close to town. I had to slow down, if I didn't, my lungs would burst. I hugged the egg closer to me, but loosened my grip so I wouldn't crush it. I looked over at Cyndaquil, who wasn't running, but jogging beside me.

We jogged down the main street where the Pokémon Center was, and we found the end of the city where Route 29 started. We collapsed by the fence there, breathing hard, and Cyndaquil sat in front of me as I caught my breath. How embarrassing... I was definitely out of shape, but my friends were super healthy. They were probably already there, which was good... I can catch up... I can run after them... as soon as I can breathe...

"Hmph. How pathetic can you get?" I heard a voice mutter above my head, and Cyndaquil barked ferociously at the man who stood above me, like he did to scare away the wild Pokémon. I didn't look up yet at who it was, but I saw his feet move back, as if startled by my Pokemon's reaction. But then I noticed his muscles tense. "Can you shut your rat?" Cyndaquil snarled and jumped at the guy, warning him to back off.

I took a deep breath. "Sorry, he doesn't really listen to me yet." I apologized as I looked up, only to see that rude, redheaded guy from earlier standing over me with those cold, steely grey eyes of his. My tone suddenly got bitter. "Well, if it isn't Mr._ Jerk-Ass_." I said cooly with venom as I stood, my fatigue suddenly gone. He raised a brow a my comment, seeming to just remember throwing me, this innocent little girl into the dirt. _"Can I help you with something?"_ I spat, mocking his cold voice. He growled.

"I see the professor gave you a Pokémon, huh?" He noticed as the little grey Pokémon glared him down, holding his constant growling, definitely _not_ afraid of this guy. "Please. I can't imagine why he would give a Pokémon with such potential to a little wimp like yourself." He said, an invisible smirk tugging at his lips. A cruel smirk.

"What is wrong with you? I don't even know you!" I asked, gesturing to him with one hand as the other held my egg. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't need to know you to know you're weak. I can see it." The tall guy said, leaning over me with a cruel, twisted grin. "So because your Pokémon has a weak trainer, it'll turn out weak." I stared at the guy with wide eyes.

"Excuse me, but what did I ever do to you that made you so rude?" I said, hugging the egg closer to me for comfort. This guy made me uneasy.

He laughed cruelly. "You being weak is reason enough for me. I hate the weak, everyone and everything that's weak, I hate them." He said without blinking as he watched me for a reaction. That's what this guy wanted, what every bully wanted, to make someone feel weak and defenseless. Please, I've been through worse.

"Do you hate yourself too, or are you an exception?" He leaned back with an amused look on his face.

"I know you're weak from how easily it was to toss you to the ground. A strong person would've resisted or fought back." His eyes glinted. "Would you like a repeat?"

"Well aren't you an asshole?" I got defensive and got all up in his face. "I am so not afraid of you, dude. Now screw with somebody else." He raised a brow. "Piss off."

His brows furrowed, and he growled in my face. "Well, you're a bitchy one, ain't you?" He plastered on a snaky grin that made me sick. Dad told me that people like that shouldn't be messed with because they aren't worth the effort. I should have listened.

"I said. Piss. Off. I am strong, and I don't need you telling me otherwise." This made him fall into a laughing fit, and he couldn't stop for a while.

"You wanna prove that theory?" He chuckled with a reptilian tone that made my skin crawl. The scary teen pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "You down for a battle, little girl?" _Little girl!?_ The fuck? He's only like a year or two older than me!

"Oh, I'm down! You ready Cyndaquil?" I saw my Pokemon, who was still glaring at this guy, this bully, and he gave a quick nod. I doubt he wanted to battle because I told him to; he probably just didn't like the guy. Which was the same reason I wanted to battle him too, I guess.

"A fire-type, huh?" He looked at my Cyndaquil, who snarled, and the boy laughed evilly. "You are so fucked!" He lept back and tossed his Pokeball to the ground.

"Cyndaquil, get out there!" Cyndaquil eagerly complied, darting out in front of me, teeth bared. My opponent's Pokeball flashed, and the little blue Pokemon cackled. _No... What!? That Pokemon!? Why_ that_ Pokemon!?_

"Totodile, use Leer!" The boy commanded. The blue Pokemon, instead of attacking, turned around to see his trainer. He gave the boy a blank look, and then waved at him. This at first confused the boy, but then angered him. "Totodile, I said _use Leer on that Pokemon_!" He growled. The Pokemon cocked his head to the side, confused, but he smiled at his trainer. The trainer facepalmed.

"Cyndaquil, tackle it!" Cyndaquil charged forward, and knocked the Pokemon to the side. Totodile, dazed now, stood up dizzily, and shook it off. It seemed to understand what was going on now. He bared his fangs and charged at my Pokemon with those big teeth...

_Those teeth..._

"Cyndaquil, dodge! Hurry!" Cyndaquil rolled to the side, setting his back ablaze with those flames as Totodile missed. But the alligator turned and lunged at my Pokemon, slashing Cyndaquil's leg with his tiny, but sharp claws. By the look of the scratches, they must have been like needles. Cyndaquil squeaked in pain, but he didn't seem too hurt.

"Cyndaquil, put out a smokescreen! Hide yourself in it!" Cyndaquil listened, and the flames on his back died down. As soon as Totodile charged, ready to take out my Pokemon, a thick mass of black smog erupted from the holes in Cyndaquil's back. I saw Totodile dive into the smoke, but I heard his confused sounds, meaning he couldn't see where my Cyndaquil went.

"Use Water Gun!" The boy snarled, almost as viciously as Cyndaquil would snarl at me. A stream of water ejected from the thick black smoke. I could immediately tell where the target was.

"Cyndaquil!" As soon as I called out to my Pokemon, I saw the whole black cloud erupt in flames and Totodile flailed about, running out of the cloud, coughing, and I noticed the burn marks on his scales. Huh... Seems like my partner had the same idea...

My Pokemon chased after the Totodile, and rammed him from behind. Totodile turned in that same instant and bit my Pokemon's front paw, and dragged around a struggling Cyndaquil, who set his back ablaze again, spewing flames about in a panic.

"Totodile, let go! Then drown the thing!" The dude before me commanded as his Pokemon obeyed. Totodile thrashed my Pokemon, and flung him to the side.

"Cyndaquil! Oh Arceus..." I gasped as my Pokemon twitched, groaning. He tried to get up, managing to stand. The mini-volcanoes on his back flared up, and he snarled...

"Totodile! Water Gun! _Now_!" My enemy ordered. Totodile opened his huge jaws, and an enormous, high pressured jet of water blasted my Pokemon...

"Cyndaquil! No!" My Pokemon cried in pain as steam rose from him.

He fell.

He didn't move.

And my opponent smirked.

"That," He said triumphantly. "was a waste of my time." He got ready to pull out his Pokeball to return his Pokemon...

I heard the growling first.

"Wait! Cyndaquil's not out yet!" I saw my Pokemon groan, as he stood, his firey body sparking and heating... I could feel his flaming determination from the distance we stood apart...

"Whatever." The guy before me sighed. "Totodile, handle this." Totodile riled himself up and set out his stream of water.

Cyndaquil erupted in a column of flames, and charged the water Pokemon.

The fire and water fought against each other, equally strong, equally desperate. But Cyndaquil was more determined and had much more rage to release. The flames had changed from a hot-red to a blinding, searing white, and it overpowered the water stream.

My Pokemon attacked the Totodile as he set himself on fire, tackling and biting and spewing embers in every freaking direction.

I've heard about this. It was Cyndaquil's ability, Blaze, giving him this power.

The blue Pokemon fell, his body steaming. And he didn't move. But this time, he was out.

Cyndaquil glared at the limp Totodile, grunting in triumph. It took me and the guy before me a moment before we realized what had just happened.

"I-I," I choked, until my joy rose, giving me strength and excitement. "I won... We won... We won. We won!" My voice got louder as I got more excited. "Holy Miltank, we won! Cyndaquil, we won our first battle!" Cyndaquil watched me, and though he didn't jump up and down in a jocular fashion like I was, he did bark excitedly at me. The guy who lost, however, glared at his Pokemon as he returned it.

"Tch. Stupid Pokemon." He snarled at his Pokeball. He didn't seem to be the type who could handle failure well. He turned his glare to me. "Listen. You only won by beginner's luck. You are, in no possible way, stronger than me. By no means are you stronger than me." He growled like the monster I sensed he was. "Now get out of my way." He stomped forward and thrust an arm to throw me to the side.

Dad told me I had good reflexes. I had my ninja moments. When the man pushed me aside, my eyes darted to a card sticking out of his pocket ever so slightly. I saw my chance.

Quickly I set the egg beside Cyndaquil, and my hand slipped around his blindside as I silently took the card from his pocket. And he walked off without noticing... Well, not noticing for about three seconds as I tried to read it.

His hands were in his pocket, but he stopped a few steps ahead of me, feeling around in his pockets... And he turned to see me lifting the card up to my eyes.

"Hey!" He barked at me and I looked up, and I saw him storming over to me, desperately trying to get back his I.D card. "Give it back!" His hands grabbed for it, but I sat on the fence and leaned back, constantly pulling out of his reach.

"Hang on! I'm trying to read your name!" Right, as if _that _was going to stop him. I mentally facepalmed. He leaned over me and I kept inching back, trying to read it, but it was hard to with a strange dude all up in my face. "Get off of me! You freak- Whoa!" He leaned a little too far, and the inconvenience called gravity pulled us both to the dirt.

I landed on the ground, and he landed on top of me, his weight nearly crushing me as I choked to breathe. He wasn't fat, but he _was_ bigger than me.

Cyndaquil squeaked in awkwardness at the guy who was now on top of me on the ground. I noticed my Pokemon hold back a snicker as the random guy groaned in pain and in a daze.

His long, blood-red locks were in my face, streaking my vision with lines of crimson. His head, no, his _face_ was buried in my shoulder, his chest on my chest, one of his hands right by my ear as his other hand lay across my wrist, closest to his head. His waist lay across my hip, and his legs were entangled in mine. I was speechless as my cheeks got hot by the weirdness. Um, wow, can you say _awkward_!?

He groaned as he slowly lifted his dizzy head. "Ow..." He moaned, his teeth showing as he grimaced in pain. Then as he noticed my shoulder, his brows creased in confusion. He leaned his head back further and saw me, a really confused and scared me under his heavy body. His eyes went wide as he realized he was crushing me, and how close he was to me, and the sheer awkwardness of the situation. His face reddened as we stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

...

I pulled the card behind his head and read it, only to reread it in confusion. "Your name is Silver?" What an odd name? He flinched, and growled at me. Ethan needs to take back that smart-mouth comment about Kris and meet this guy; he was scary. He rolled over, getting off of me and standing up. I was still frozen in the awkward positon, watching as _Silver_ stood above me with his fangs bared. Freak. His cold, silvery eyes, probably the cause of his name, stalked me coldly. Smoothly, his hand swooped down, ripping the I.D. card out of my fingers.

"I cannot believe you stole this just to learn my name." He grumbled angrily. Instead of helping me up, as if I expected him to do so, he nudged me roughly with his foot in my rib cage, causing me to flinch. "Get up. Go home. Get out of my face." And with that, he gave me a parting glare, and stormed off into Cherrygrove.

Cyndaquil squeaked, nudging my leg shyly, trying to get me to get up. I suddenly remembered my mission, and jumped up energetically. Well, maybe too energetically for Cyndaquil and he hissed because I moved too fast for him, startling him.

"Cyndaquil! We have to hurry, come on!" Cyndaquil barked to confirm it, and we took off down the route, just a hop and a skip away from town.

And a long distance from that bastard.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter was just for the battle! But it was short. :(**

**I feel like I'm losing my inspiration, I just wasn't feeling it as I typed this up. I'm losing my spark, because I've been bored and typing up other stories that I plan to publish. Sorry, but I get bored easily, but I will type stuff anyway and work anyway!**

**But I promise, as soon as we get past this whole "Get the Pokedex" thing and the whole "go challenge the gyms" speech and all of that tutorial stuff, then we can get to the fun parts!**

**Because there is much more freedom during the journey!**

**And I kinda feel like an idiot for not starting this after the tutorial stuff, but it's too late now! What are you gonna do?**

**Anywho, I'm going to write to my heart's content, so, yea...**

**Because the chapter after the next, Lyra is FREE! FREEDOM!**

**And not forced to abide by Elm's mission anymore!**

**So stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Bye!**

**(And that awkward moment where Silver fell on Lyra!? LMFAO!)**

**:)**


	7. Chapter Seven: The Thief That Got Away

** Chapter Seven - The Thief That Got Away...**

Cyndaquil and I dashed through the route, jumping ledges and running along the flat ground, taking every possible shortcut. I had already put the egg in my bag to keep it safe as I ran and to make me go faster. Despite Cyndaquil wincing every now and then from the battle, feeling sore and in pain, he ran just a step or two behind me. I had my breathing back. and my adrenaline was pumping as well, not just from Elm's emergency, but I was still worked up from the fight with that punk. What a douche bag...

I saw the sign, signaling the made-up border between Route 29 and New Bark Town. Almost there...

"Lyra! There you are!" Kris ran up to me, bouncing up in excitement, obviously worked up. "Come on!" Then she took off just as fast as she showed up. I swear to Arceus, I have got to get faster at running. Why does she even bother..?

I saw the side of the laboratory building against the red sky, and I gave myself another quick burst of speed. I reached my hand out to open the door, but just before I turned the knob, Cyndaquil rammed into it. I looked him, worried about his head. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?" Cyndaquil stumbled while dazed, but he shook it off and gave me a weak bark. I had to hold back a chuckle at him head-butting the door. I pulled the door open and speed-walked in the hallway.

There was an officer in uniform interviewing a very twitchy Professor Elm, who was sweaty, but he seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Kris was talking to a very nervous assistant, Henry, and Ethan was standing by in a corner. His arms were crossed, and he was staring at the floor, a very hard expression on his face, like he was debating something. I could tell something was angering him, but it was also a very thoughtful look, the Magnemite in his brain working very hard on something. It was always best to leave him alone when he wore that expression. He looked up at me as I walked in, and he nodded to the professor and went back to staring at the tiles.

I tentatively walked forward towards the professor, who acknowledged me with a half-hearted smile. "Oh. Hello Lyra."

"Hello professor." I gave the same half-hearted greeting. "What happened here while I was gone, sir?"

"There was a break in. Some twerp stole a Pokemon." The cop said in his haughty Celadon City accent. I could tell by his stance that he was born and raised in Kanto, and his accent proved it, because everything at the end of the sentence was prolonged and his voice was higher pitched than most men. He gave me a look of interest and doubt. "How do you know the professor, miss?"

"I'm a neighbor, and I went to Route 30 on a request." He nodded, making a lot of 'mm-hm' sounds.

"Interesting... Well, then can you tell me why it took you longer to come here than it took your _friends_ over there?" He emphasized friends like he didn't believe it, and he was implying something. I didn't like his tone.

"Their faster than I am. I'm a bit less in shape than they are." I felt self-conscious as I said it, but it was true nonetheless. "And I was in a battle."

"You know, they say the guilty will always return to the crime scene. You were gone longer than the others, and I think I'm gonna have to take you in, miss." He reached for some cuffs, but everyone jumped up in my defense.

"I sent her to go to Route 30!" Elm stated.

"She was with us when we got the call!" Kris said.

"Lyra would never!" Henry stood up and said. Cyndaquil barked as well, his flames sparking. Chikorita and Marill also denied it.

"Lyra didn't do it! I saw the guy who did! There was a dude with red hair, about our age, looking through the window earlier! I'm confident he did it!" Ethan remarked, causing the cop to raise a brow. My heart stopped for a moment.

"Oh my Arceus, I battled him..." I muttered, thinking out loud. The cop must've heard me, because he questioned me.

"Did you say you battled him? Could you give me a name?" He pressed. I looked to the professor.

"Which Pokemon did they steal, Professor Elm? Was it one of the test Rattatas, or maybe-,"

"The thief stole the Totodile. I was so stupid, leaving it in plain sight..." The professor expressed his regret and frustration. My heart totally froze over.

The officer scribbled down the details of the red-haired kid, and nudged me, pressing me for information."Did the guy you battled have a Totodile, miss?" He pressed. I stuttered, and his hard stare squeezed a yes out of me. "Interesting..."

"You don't think he could have already had a Totodile of his own?" I asked. The cop looked at me with a face that thought I was mental. Well, maybe I was.

"I highly doubt that miss." He raised a brow. He added to the report that he indeed did have the Totodile. "And did you happen to catch his name?"

_Silver, Silver, Silver._ That was his name. _Silver_. Should I tell the cop his name? Of course I should, he was a jerk and he stole an innocent Pokemon! What am I thinking? Why would I lie for him, that would mean he'd be free to go! My insides conflicted for whether or not I should hide this criminal or confess what I know and have him caught and arrested. While my logic fought with my stupidity, somehow my stupidity won over and I found myself making up some kind of ridiculous name.

"Uhh... Matthias Enrique Umberto Gardenheimer Jay." Way to go Lyra. _Now where the fuck did you come up with that one!?_ The professor and my friends watched me oddly, but the stupid cop seemed to buy it, since he was scribbling down the name. I mentally facepalmed and mentally sighed in relief.

"Did he tell you all of that? Because that could be an alias he made up or something..." Yea, right. More like an alias that _I_ made up for a criminal who so far I hate. Why am I so _dumb_?

"No, I read his trainer I.D. card. That's what it said." I looked over at his paper, and in an effort to make it seem like more of a truth, I added," By the way, it's spelled E-N-R-I-Q-U-E, not with an actual 'kay'." He nodded and rewrote it, causing me to believe he bought it more.

"Thank you, miss Lyra. This is a huge help to my investigation, and Professor Elm, we will find him, one way or another. Now, my next assignment is to search for the delinquent." And with that and a huff, he strode out of the lab in search for a guy who I made up. I haven't been told I was a good liar, because no one can tell I'm lying or not. I think I gained this skill from saying, "Yes, I'm okay," and "No, I'm fine," and things of the sort when people have asked me if I was okay or not over the past few years after Pidgeot and Dad... Well, you guys know the story.

"Wow, who the hell named that kid?" Ethan whispered to Kris as they walked toward the professor and I.

"Well, that was an awful deed to do, especially by someone so young. Thieves are no good, and you kids should learn to stay away from people like that and report them if you come across anyone like that. Do not associate with crooks." Elm said with a lecturing tone, but he was staring bitterly at the machine, now empty of Pokeballs.

"We know professor. I'm sorry that happened to you." Kris said.

"How did it happen?" asked Ethan.

The professor shook his head and went to his desk to breathe for a moment. He noticed he had a new email, so he chose that distraction. Meanwhile, Henry explained, "There was a loud noise outside. Like a gunshot, or a tree trunk breaking. But more like a gunshot. We..," He swallowed. My stomach flopped. _That kid could've had a gun!?_ My friends looked just as sick. "We went outside to take a look, maybe find out what that sound was. There were no trees busted, no evidence of a gunshot, nothing. Just the echo to prove the noise. Meanwhile we were out there, we heard the back door get kicked open. We ran around to see it had indeed been kicked and inside the room, everything was nearly untouched. Except for the Pokeball, which was stolen." He looked down. "They say a Pokemon raised by a bad person turns bad itself." Then he turned down the hall and left the room, headed towards his office.

"Lyra, what was Mr. Pokemon's big surprise?" He asked in a monotone voice, not even bothering to turn around from the computer screen, his eyes red like the evening sky out the window. I gingerly pulled the round white object out of my bag, and carefully walked forward with it in my arms. I felt a critter move around inside but the shell itself was colder instead of warm like earlier. Maybe it was just my imagination.

"Here, Professor Elm." I outstretched my arms with the egg, and he looked up with a brow raised. When he saw the egg, his eyes glinted slightly. He gingerly reached out for it, and as gently as I possibly could, I placed the egg right there in his arms. He stared at it emotionless, but I could see in his eyes that he was intrigued.

"Thank you." He merely said as he slowly rotated the egg, and examined the outside. He stood and walked over to an incubator machine that he has sitting amongst his other gadgets. He opened it, placed the egg inside, pressed a couple of buttons and it shut. A warm light turned on inside the glass.

"Thank you for bringing the egg to me kids. You did a good job. You can go home now. But remember, I expect you to train your Pokemon, raise them, let me know how the training is working." He said quietly. "Also, Ethan told me that Oak was there, and that he gave you Pokedexes. Congratulations. I also expect you to help him as well with finding out how many species of Pokemon there are. You can ask your parents if they would let you travel. Make sure you present a good argument so they will let you." He was staring at the egg this whole time, entranced by it and inwardly excited about it. "I also hope that you will partake in the gym challenge. Go home now, and get some rest. Think about how you want to go about this now." He turned to his computer to type up a thank-you email for Mr. Pokemon. We stood there awkwardly.

"Well, goodnight Professor Elm." I said.

"Goodnight children." He responded, still too upset to wave us off. My friends shrugged, and we called our Pokemon and walked each other home.

"Man, some people are messed up." Ethan grumbled as he stood between me and Kris. "He was right there too. I saw him. If I had only known what he was up to..."

"It's ok Ethan." Kris put a hand on his shoulder in a supportive manner. "None of us knew."

"I know, it just... Is unsatisfying to know he was so close." He responded. "Was he at least a good battler?" I knew that was directed me.

"I won. But it was pretty freaking close. One more hit, and Cyndaquil would've been down for the count." I looked down to see him walking behind me. He nudged my calf in response, and in response I smiled at him. "But he pulled through. I was real proud of him." Cyndaquil squeaked at the comment.

"Good. I'm glad he lost." Ethan whispered, his gold eyes glowing in the dark sky. It was already that dark out?

I wanted to say something that reassured him, but I would have to go through with it as well. "I'll find him Ethan. I'll catch up to him and defeat him every time he and I battle. And I'll turn him in one day. I'll make him return Totodile." Ethan's head perked up. "I promise."

He watched me for a moment, and then gave one of those one-armed hugs. "Thanks Lyra. I just really hate people like that." He paused for another moment. "Your dad would be proud of you for saying that." My stomach curled at that. Would dad be proud? Sure, chasing the villain and turning him in, yea, he would totally be proud. But vengeance wasn't really dad's style, so I don't know...

"We're almost at your house." Kris said to me. I lived closest to the waterside, and they lived a street down from me. They were next-door neighbors themselves. They walked me to my doorstep, and we exchanged goodbye hugs for the night.

"Hey Lyra. Bribe and beg your mom to let you go on a journey with us. We'll all go together. We'll travel together, we'll meet up in every city, share a hotel room, do our own thing in town by day, but hang out in the hotel at night. When we decide to move on to the next town, we can go our seperate ways on the routes between." Ethan suggested. "That way we don't get in each other's way, but in case one of us gets into trouble, the rest of us will be close enough to help. Your mom would want it that way anyhow, right?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

"Oh, you might want to show up early tomorrow and help me with this argument guys. She almost didn't let me go to get the egg today. But I'm sure we can convince her one way or another." I shrugged.

"That's a great idea!" Kris said. "I don't know if I could go travel without you guys anyway. I mean, how boring! Plus, I tend to get lost easy, and well..." She chuckled and we all laughed and agreed.

"Just one condition though." I swallowed, about to take on a more serious tone. "Eventually, we will reach Mahogany Town. When we do, I want to go to the Lake of Rage." My friends eyed me carefully. "I just want to see the place on a good day. I want to say hi to Dad and Pidgeot while I'm there, say a few prayers, tell them what I've been up to, that sort of thing." I looked down, waiting for an answer.

"Of course, Lyra." Kris hugged me in a sisterly manner. "We'll even go with you if you want."

"That's the thing." I said. "I want to see my dad and Pidgeot alone. But in the event of a Gyarados showing up..," I had to cough. "I need you two to be there. You need to get me out of there if I start freaking out. Just come with me, hang back, but if one shows up and starts to rampage..," Stupid coughing fits. "Get me out." I noticed Kris was still hugging me, and Ethan had a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Just in case. You guys aren't afraid of any old Gyarados, are ya?"

Ethan smirked. "Nah, we'll make sure you're safe." He promised.

"We'll kick a Gyarados butt or two for you." Kris winked as she let go of me. I sighed in relief.

"Thank Arceus. I just wanted to get this off of my chest because, well, it's inevitable to find a Gyarados. One of these days, I'm gonna run into one, and one of these days, I'm gonna have to stand up to one." They smiled supportingly. "Just not today."

"Just not today." Kris agreed.

Ethan patted my back. "Go to sleep kid. We'll come get you in the morning." He hugged me one more time, then glared at Kris. "Well come on, Kris! It's a group hug!" She joined in, and when we all let go, we waved each other off and said our night-time farewells.

"See you guys tomorrow." I said as they walked off, and I opened my door and entered my home. "Come on Cyndaquil. We've got a long rest of our lives to get ready for. Let's get some sleep." He barked and eagerly we raced to the bed to see who was sleeping on the floor tonight.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**Chapter Seven is done! **

**Hope you guys liked it!**

**Typing this was a little bit awkward, not for the story itself, because there is nothing awkward there, but the awkwardness in the room I was typing in. I don't really have a note, so settle for story time!**

**I got these two cockatiels from my grandpa, the girl is named Morgan and the boy is named Reid. Morgan's fun to play with, but Reid is a little punk who likes to bite me. Anyway, when I was typing the conversation with the cop, I hear one of them screaming and the other one murmuring. I decide to look up to see what was wrong, and I see the most awkward thing that birds could be doing.**

**Reid was standing on top of Morgan and he was screaming, and Morgan was just, like, whispering...**

**They were doing it in the cage.**

**I started screaming, "OMG, OMG, OMG WHAT DO I DO!?" I don't know what is going on! I have only had them for a few weeks, but here they are, just, you know, doing it...**

**It was incredibly awkward. HOLY SHIT, THEY'RE DOING IT RIGHT NOW! WTF DO I DO!?**

**JUST REVIEW THE STORY AND IF YOU CAN TELL ME HOW TO MAKE THEM STOP!**

**OMG THIS IS AWKWARD!**


	8. Chapter Eight: The First Step To Freedom

** Chapter Eight - The First Steps to Freedom**

"Please, Mom!?" My pleading seemed to be in vain so far. "Pretty pleeeeaaase!?"

"No Lyra! Are you _insane_!?" My mother, when I first suggested it, thought I was joking. When I didn't laugh, she realized that I was serious, as serious as a heart attack. Then she started to hyperventilate and go crazy, wondering why in the world I would want to do this to her and cause her worry. "There is no way that I am going to let you leave here! Now I'm going to ensure it by constantly being behind your back and over your shoulder. My Arceus, Lyra, what is _wrong_ with you?" Oh my lord Arceus, I should've just snuck out when I had the chance. Maybe explain over the phone when I was a long way away from her and she couldn't come drag me back home by my teeth. "What has gotten into you? Who put it in your head that you should..." She paused, but then her face showed some recognition. "The professor, isn't it? Lyra, you are going to go to his lab, give him _back_ his Pokemon-,"

"I AM NOT GIVING BACK CYNDAQUIL! CYNDAQUIL IS STAYING HERE WITH ME AND THAT IS FINAL!" I never would have ever dreamed of screaming at my mother, no matter what, but taking my first Pokemon away? What the hell is _wrong_ with her!?

"That Pokemon has manipulated your mind, making you think that you should just walk off all willy nilly, and explore the world! Is that what you want, to run around the world?The world isn't fun, Lyra Kotone. It's a cruel, dark place." She growled. "You are giving Cyndaquil back to Professor Elm, then you are forbidden to talk to him, and you are not allowed to see your friends or their Pokemon anymore-,"

"_NO_! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! You are not going to take my Cyndaquil, and you are not taking away my friends! You might as well take away my happiness while you're at it! Take away my life too! If you're taking away the things that make me happy, then I don't want it! Just take the life and liberty away! I love you mom, but sometimes you can take it way too far."

"Oh, _I'm_ taking this too far?" Her tone just got a hundred shades darker. She took a step forward, about to unleash words to pin me down. This was a battle of the words. "You get a Pokemon, that first of all doesn't even like you and is dangerous and has threatened to attack you. Then you decide to go on a stroll with it to get some stupid egg of some stupid Pokemon-,"

"Pokemon are not stupid, _mother_." She continued like she didn't hear me.

"And while you're gone, a person your age steals a Pokemon. So far, after this Pokemon came into your life, already things go wrong around here-,"

"It wasn't Cyndaquil's fault, _mother_." I growled, but she was still scolding and lecturing.

"Then the day after all of this, your Pokemon takes your bed and makes you sleep on the floor-,"

"It was a playful race mother! Besides, when he was asleep, I put him back in his Pokeball-,"

"Good. That's where those things belong, the filthy animals."

I could not believe what I was hearing. "_Mother_!?"

"So anyway, that shows me that the Pokemon does not respect his trainer, which is _bad_, Lyra Kotone Soul. And now, you wanna take an ill-tempered, disrespectful and cold-hearted Pokemon with you on a journey to Arceus knows where-,"

"All around Johto. And I think Cyndaquil's starting to respect me, too! He obeyed some of my commands in a battle-,"

"_Some_ commands?" She raised a brow as if she won. _Bitch please._ I won't lose _that_ easily. You just wait, woman.

"I didn't tell him what to do all the way through the battle! I let him do his own thing, follow his instincts,"

"Lyra, he's an _animal_. He just has instincts, and I don't believe Pokemon have the ability to know right from wrong. If he burned you or something, it wouldn't be an accident, he would have done it because his _instincts_ told him to. Do you know what these creatures are made for? Battling, fighting, hurting... They're wild monsters, and they're heartless."

"You know, the only thing heartless around here is _you_, Mama." I said it as calmly as I would any sentence. Mom paused, and I stared at the floor, my fingers clenched into a tight fist, my knuckles turning as intimidating as the fist of a Hitmonchan, and as white as the skin of a Dewgong. I could feel her fuming, the room turning as heated as a Torkoal's shell. It was about to get either crazy nasty up in here, or deadly calm, or me just dead. It could go either way.

"Lyra, Pokemon are not good creatures." Her tone had turned soft, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of me looking up to listen. Instead I would stare at the wooden floor under my toes. I was still in my pajamas, a tank top and cotton pants. My outfit I wore yesterday was washing, and I packed several of the same clothes in the yellow bag with a few other supplies and necessities. I was packed and ready to go, all I needed was my mother's blessing. Even then, I was just about to leave without it. But I knew it would hurt Mom, and I didn't know if I could leave her that easily. There had to be closure. She took a tentative step towards me, giving me the shy, caring approach. I could see her next method to get me to surrender. "They can kill people, Lyra."

"They can help people too, Mom." I kept my stance, staring at the floor.

"Lyra," She whispered softly, stepping forward as if to stroke my hair, but I turned and moved to the couch and away from the table. There was no way I would look at her. Not until she gave me what I wanted. "Lyra, Honey. You remember. Remember what happened to your father because of Pokemon?" She paused before continuing, watching my reaction. I could feel her being smug inside. She usually didn't do this because it was cruel, but it was her last resort. Actually, knowing my mother, she would have a lot of last resorts. "A Pokemon ended him, Lyra. You know this better than anyone. A Pokemon caused us years of suffering and pain. A Pokemon tore our family apart."

"A Pokemon brought our family together once, too. Remember what happened to dad because of Pokemon?" I glared her down, wanting her to take the full effect of my words. "Dad became one of the greatest Pokemon Rangers of all time because Pidgeot was by his side, had always been by his side since they were both little. They were inseparable, Mom. Two brothers of different species, but that didn't stop them. Dad and Pidgeot got promoted to Top Rangers at age seventeen, the youngest in Johto. That was when you guys started dating, remember?" I watched her face, and I watched the memories play out on her face. "Dad and Pidgeot saved people and Pokemon, for the good of everyone. If the younger Dad didn't meet the Pidgey at that time, Dad probably wouldn't have been that hero that he was. That _they_ were." I usually never spoke of either one separately. I never said 'Dad the Ranger.' I would always say 'Dad and Pidgeot the Rangers.' Because they were both equal, and both heroes. "If they hadn't been brought together, he would have been a different man. He might have married a different woman, and you might have married a different man. And I wouldn't be here. So in a wierd way, _mother_," I took a step closer, and spoke slowly so she could get every word of this. "If it wasn't for Pokemon, _mother_, I wouldn't be here, now would I?"

...

She had no response for a few moments, and I inwardly grinned cunningly.

"Lyra," She started again as her brain fought for something to keep the fight going. If I was fighting, I wasn't leaving. "If you go out there, I can't protect you."

"You don't have to. I have Cyndaquil, Kris and Ethan. And they have me and their Pokemon to protect them." I said without a blink.

"And what if you run into a Gyarados, huh Lyra? What are you gonna do then?"

"I'm a trainer. I'll battle it."

"Lyra Kotone, you are not strong enough to handle this on your own. You should stay home here, where it's safe-,"

"It won't always stay safe here Mom. And even if you manage to keep me around here forever, you won't be around forever either. What do you expect me to do then? I need to learn, I need to become stronger, strong enough to take care of myself and others." I watched her face, but she and I were both determined to win. But I was pretty sure that I was more stubborn. "I need this, Mama."

"What you need is to stay safe-,"

"What I need is closure Mother!" I said a bit too loudly. I could hear stirring upstairs, meaning Cyndaquil was moving about now. I let him out of his Pokeball before I came down, and I must have woken him up. "I need new places, new experiences, just somewhere where I can forget the past and move on to the next day! I can't do that here, don't you see that!?"

"No, Lyra, I don't!"

"Mom, everyone stays at least a good three feet away from me! No one talks to me in fear that I might interpret something about my father and that I'll start crying! The only people who realize that I am not that weak anymore are Ethan and Kris! They're helping me, they want to help me!" I am a hand-talker, and I was using my hands to exaggerate my points. Mother just needed to understand. "How am I supposed to forget if I'm not even allowed to remember?"

"Lyra..." She wasn't going to show it, but I could the openings in her armor. I just hope my defenses weren't as exposed. "I don't want you to have nightmares and feel scared and alone on these trips. Bad things happen, Lyra. No one knows why, but they do."

"Mom, this doesn't mean anything. I know bad things happen, but you can't let bad things overlap the good. I've been letting it do this to me for three years mom. Shoot, Mama, the incident at the lake was the whole reason I picked Cyndaquil in the first place. The other Pokemon reminded me too much of a Gyarados. I don't know why, but Gyarados haunt me. One day, I have to fight against one, Mom. Not because of the chance I might run into a battler who has one, because that still won't be as satisfying. I need to battle a big, tough Gyarados, I need it happen at the Lake of Rage, and I need closure. If I can show at least one Gyarados that I'm not afraid anymore, and that I'm stronger now, well that might just make me feel better." I sighed, not expecting my mother to understand. She wasn't there to see what _I_ saw, feel what _I_ felt. I know she was hurt by the loss, but that wasn't good enough. She _didn't_ have to live with the horror behind her eyelids _every_ night, hidden under _every_ thought, lurking in _every _memory. She doesn't know what it's like to have the past _haunt_ you, and _hurt_ you. She just doesn't understand how badly closed doors can feel, and how lonely it is to hide in the dark. She just sweeps everything under the rug. Mom misses him too, and prays every night, but she was a fast healer.

I can't heal. I can't heal because I am scarred. And scars don't heal. But they can fade, and though they will never be gone, at least they won't always hurt as bad.

I wanted so badly to say this out loud, but she wouldn't understand because she wasn't scarred. She was wounded, and wounds heal much faster than scars, and can be repaired much easier than scars.

"Lyra, I know how badly you want to defeat a Gyarados. But would your father want this? Your father was never really a fan of revenge. I'm not sure you would be honoring his memory by doing so."

"I'm not doing it to honor his memory. I'm doing it for closure. Dad didn't really think that doing wrong to someone who has done wrong was right because, to him, two wrongs don't make a right. But I'm more for the eye-for-an-eye concept."

"Lyra-,"

"Mom, just give it up already. I want to do this for the freedom, I want to do this for the experience. I want to help Elm and Oak with their research. I want to grow up with Kris and Ethan by my side. I want to challenge the gyms. Mom, if I leave this town, there's not a possible end to the things that I could do. Mama, I could even become the champion!" I was starting to ramble on about the things I could do before I stopped. I decided to cut right to the chase. "Mom, I'm leaving this town one way or another, and I'm leaving today. I'm just trying to see if it's with or without your consent."

Mom took a heavy breath and watched me with her hard, tired eyes. "You really want to do this?"

I nodded.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her two fingers. "There are Pokemon out there Lyra." She said her usual line to keep me inside. But it wouldn't work, because to starting today, I'm fearless. I'm not afraid of Pokemon anymore.

"The more, the better." Not even a blink from me as I said that. Mom had a surrender in her eyes, but there was no pain like I had expected. There was almost... Pride...

"You are so much like your father, Lyra Honey. So smart, so sturdy, and so hard-headed..." She shook her head as her eyes teared up slightly, but she blinked them away. "So you really think you should do this?" I nodded, causing her bottom lip to tremble. "You really think you can?"

"I think I will, Mom. I just want to know if you'll be okay with it." She bit back a sob, causing her body to shudder.

"I just..." Her voice trailed off as she took a shaky breath. "I just lost your father, and Pidgeot. I don't want you going to a dangerous world and get hurt. It would kill me to know that something happened to you and that I couldn't be there to help..."

"I'm sorry Mom. But I have a Pokemon, and friends and-,"

"Your father had a powerful Pidgeot and other top rangers, but you see what happened to him?" She spat, then taking another sigh. "Lyra, just promise me something."

"Promise you what mom?"

"Just promise you won't do anything stupid, ok?"

I actually laughed at this. "Mom, I swear by Arceus that I won't do anything stupid, and if I do, I'll make sure my friends keep me in check." Mom gave me a look. "Ok fine, I won't do anything ridiculous, mother."

"Good." She sighed and turned away. "Now go get your stuff and get out there, go explore. Your father would be so proud." She teared up and walked off to get my clothes out of the laundry room.

I silently fist pumped the air, and with all the grace and silence of a Kirlia, I dance up the stares to greet my partner and pack my things.

* * *

"Damn," Ethan said. "That's an argument if I've ever heard of one."

"Wow," Kris said. "I can't believe she actually let you go after all of that."

"Yea, it was difficult to persuade her, but I managed. I did feel awful about some of the things I said, but, at least they worked to let me go." I agreed and they all awed at my story. Our Pokemon were playing behind us as we walked towards Route 30 from Cherrygrove.

"Well..." Kris started. "Where to next?" She pulled out the Pokegear and went to the map, awaiting an answer.

"Where else? Next city, Violet City. It's the closest, so why not?" I said.

"Violet City's cool. There's a Pokemon Gym. Who plans to challenge it?"

"I do." I volunteered, and Ethan grinned. Kris gave an iffy gesture.

"I don't know if battling is my thing, but I'll find something for me to do on this journey. I'm more into performing, and researching."

"Aw well. Bummer. But I guess Lyra and I will each be a battler then!" He and I punched our knuckles together. "There's also a school, and a training tower. And it's right next to the Ruins of Alps, and we have got to check that place out."

"Oh, I saw a documentary on that on TV!" Kris said, explaining some stuff. "There's supposed to be puzzles left unsolved for centuries since the place has been discovered. They even have puzzle experts examine them, but to no avail." We nodded and exchanged rumors about it until we reached that imaginary border between Cherrygrove City and Route 30.

We stood there, silent, waiting.

...

But what for?

"What are we waiting for!? I'll beat you guys there!" I took off down the wooded path, Cyndaquil barking and chasing after me. I could faintly hear my friends laughing and calling my name behind me over the sound of my feet slapping the dirt.

The breeze blew my bangs, and my lungs took in the air, the freshness, the freedom...

I was free...

Free to go anywhere, free to do anything...

Let's see what's first as soon as I get to Violet City.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**And now Lyra is free to be her!**

**Not be caged by the past in her room anymore!**

**Anyway, I hope you like it, please review, and if you see a problem, you let me know, so I can fix or improve it for the next chapter!**

**So thank you for reading!**

**And by the way, Forever a Savior, I got the birds a nesting box just in case because of your advice. But I'm still terrified by the thought of baby birds...**

**Thanks for reading and review, and in return, I will type the next one!**

**...Well, not really in return, I'll type it anyway, but helpful criticism is well appreciated!**

**:)**


	9. Chapter Nine - The Views of Violet

**Chapter Nine - The Views of Violet**

I had completed the trio when I arrived at the city gate, greeted by Kris's friendliness and Ethan's usual complaining about my lack of speed and asking why I always take my time.

"Ethan, you guys ran ahead of me and came here. I, however, explored the route a little, battling trainers and tracking down Pokemon. Look, I have a few new entries for my Pokedex; you're free to transfer the data, by the way. I also got two numbers, Joey Elm and this kid Wade." I explained as Kris was transferring the data, and making sure we all had the same amount of information. "And that, Ethan is why I'm always so slow. Maybe you should chill out and explore once in a while."

"Alright, alright. I'll stop racing." Ethan agreed. "Come on, let's go." Kris nodded, handing me back my Pokedex, and then we followed Ethan past the gate into Violet City.

It smelled of incense and candles and heavy flowers. It was too much to be pleasant, but not enough to make me gag. Cyndaquil, however, squealed as he rubbed his nose, which was intensely more sensetive than my own. He jumped up and clung to my bag, struggling, but managing to get into the yellow bag, and I heard him sigh contentedly to be away from such a strong smell. Kris and Ethan's faces cringed up at the rush of aromas, but after walking the streets for a few minutes, they got used to it. We noticed the red roofed building, however in this city, it was more of a maroon roof, and so we headed to the Pokemon Center.

The glass doors dinged as we entered, and this center was much more populated than the one in Cherrygrove. Instead of one nurse, there were four of them, one receptionist, and a doctor in the back being assisted by several Chansey and Blissey. A brunette nurse came up to us, her work bun in a disarray, and offered her services.

"Welcome to the Violet Pokemon Center! Is there anything I can help you with?" She seemed kind, and rather young. I noticed that while she was talking to all of us, she was really just watching Ethan, which didn't really bother me, but Kris's blue eyes flickered with irritation. Ethan, being as dense as he is most of the time, just stood there and didn't notice her being particular to him.

"Yes, you can." Kris stepped forward, handing the girl Chikorita's Pokeball, and Ethan handed her his sleeping Marill. Marill had a cold, but since he broke his own Pokeball when he was much younger, he had to be carried around. The girl placed the Pokeball in one of her pockets, and took Marill in her arms, then gestured to me.

"Cyndaquil? You can come out now." He squeaked inside the bag, tentatively poking his head out. I reached beside him, and though he didn't hiss, he scooted back from it as I pulled out his Pokeball. "I'm going to hand you to this nice lady, and she's going to let you rest." Before he could growl at the stranger, I pressed the button, and he was sucked back into the metal spherical container. It shook, but after tapping the shell of the ball, I managed to quiet him, and handed the ball to the lady.

"Thank you. You may wait in the lobby and I will return your Pokemon after they are well rested and healed of any injuries and illnesses. If you would like to book a room, you can talk to Jane, our lovely receptionist." She gestured to woman in her twenties who was handing keys to people and typing up a storm on her computer. "We hope our services are of help." She curtsied, gave Ethan one last glance before turning and skipping to the offices.

"Hey, I'll go handle registration." Ethan turned to go the lady at the desk and Kris started to follow.

"I'll pay for the room this time. My parents gave me a bunch of money for travel and shopping and stuff..." She followed him to the desk as she pulled a few bills out of her purse. I turned and sat at one of the plush couches, awaiting the return of my Cyndaquil.

Looking over at my friends, Kris and Ethan seemed to be in an argument over who should pay the bill. Taking out my Pokegear, I shot them a quick text suggesting they should split the bill. Whether or not they got it or took it as an idea was up to them, it was just a suggestion.

"Fweet?" A little tweet greeted me, almost a deja vu moment of when I met Chikorita, however I recognized the tweeting as opposed to the chirping. I looked over and a little Pidgey was staring up at me. "Fweet, fweet?" It nudged my leg curiously, and so I outstretched a finger to scratch it's little head, to which it cooed. I giggled.

The little bird started to sing, whistling a little tune, only to stop and watch me. Hesitantly, I whistled the tune back, and the brown bird flapped excitedly, singing more notes, and waiting for me to return the tune, as if it were teaching me a song.

"Oh, hey, sorry about that." I heard a husky male voice above me and saw his hand reach down the pick up the bird. I looked up to see a navy blue-haired dude with intense eyes, firey blue. He had fair skin and handsome features, and I could feel the stares of surrounding young girls on us. He watched my face just as curiously, and extended a hand. "...Hi."

"Hi." I shook his hand, very firm and strong. He seemed to hold it for a moment after I shook, but that might have been my imagination.

"Hi..." He was watching my face with an interest, then regained his composure. "Uh, sorry about that. He's pretty social, I just caught him the other day."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I enjoyed his company." I stretched a hand to stroke his feathers, warm and soft. "He's very sweet."

"Yea, he's very friendly." He lifted his hand and brought the bird to his torso, and Pidgey hopped up onto his shoulder. Then he looked back down at me. "Um, the name's Falkner, by the way."

"Lyra, Lyra Soul." I said smiling. He smiled back, a bright white grin which made my heart flutter slightly. He was cute...

"That's a very pretty name, Lyra." He grinned at me, a genuine grin. Take that Mom; my first day out and I meet a cute guy who is a total gentleman. "I'm the Gym Leader of Violet City. You're a trainer, yes?" I nodded and his smile grew wider. "That's great! I look forward to sparring with you Lyra." He turned as if to go, but then turned right back to me. "Hey um, how long to plan to stay in Violet?" I noticed my friends watching me, Kris with wide eyes and Ethan with that hard, protective brotherly look.

"Um, I'm guessing a few days? My friends and I are intersted in Bell Tower, the school, the gym," His eyes brightened at that. "and the Ruins of Alph seem pretty interesting. I also want to see what Pokemon are around here."

"Well, if you'd like, I could show you around the city. You know, if that's alright with you, Lyra." He tilted his head down, and gave me a cool look from under his lashes. My heart thudded. Oh my Mew, I think I have a crush!

"Yea! Totally!" _Damn it Lyra_, keep your cool, stay cool. "Sounds like fun. Later tonight?" I tilted my head to the side and gave a shy smile to give me more of an innocent cute look. He smiled again.

"I'll pick you up in the lobby here. I get off around five, so is that good with you?" He asked. I could feel heat rise to my cheeks, and he chuckled quietly at it.

"Yea, I'm not really doing anything. I think Kris and Ethan want to check out the school first, but I'm sure they'll understand. I'll save my training and other stuff for tomorrow."

"Good. Why are you interested in the school? You should have already passed the Trainer's Exam and got your Trainer's License and I.D. Card, right? You're supposed to be ten or something to get them."

"Oh, yea I already have mine. You see I work for Professor Elm, I'm an assistant of his. So are my friends. We thought we should just check it out."

He nodded. "Earl, the teacher, tends to hang around the PokeMart. You should probably find him first if you want to learn anything." He instructed to help me. "So, I'll see you later, Lyra." He gave me a parting glance and grin, and then exited through the sliding doors. The room seemed to come back to life as people went from staring at Falkner and I to their daily business.

"Whoa, that guy-," Kris gestured to the doors that he had left through, "was attractive." Her blue eyes widened and she winked at me. "So what did he say, come on, what did he say to you?" She was practically bouncing in excitement. Ethan was quieter on the subject.

"He just came to pick up his Pidgey, and we exchanged names. That's all." If it wasn't for the fact that I was giddy and giggling they might've bought it, but Kris was waiting for more details and would probably threaten to kill me for those details. "And... He wants to give me a tour of Violet City tonight. At around five tonight." Kris stared at me wide-eyed for a moment, only to jump up and squeal like the girly teen she was.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, OH MY GOSH! Lyra, this is great! Aaaahhh!" She was doing a wierd bouncing dance beside me, making me wish I could disappear, but since I didn't have magic powers like that, I just pulled the brim of my mushroom hat down over my eyes to hide my blushing face of embarrasment. "Holy Miltank, what time is it?" She turned around vigorously for a clock, but Ethan sighed irritatingly and pulled out his Pokegear.

"It's only noon. We have time, so chill ladies." He placed the device back in his bag. Kris looked very disappointed and I felt relieved, because if I let Kris have the chance to help me get ready, I would probably end up looking red carpet sexy. I don't need that. _Yet_. Ethan snapped us out of our girly daze. "Let's go check out the room. We're going to check out the school, right?"

I nodded. "Yea, Falkner said the teacher is a guy named Earl who hangs around the store."

"Ooh, Falkner," Kris nudged me playfully. "That's a sexy name, Lyra! Nice catch! Well, we better hurry and finish checking out the school so we can get you ready for your date-,"

"It's not a date!" I defended, but I was still giggling, so I don't think they bought it. Aw hell, as long as I knew the truth it didn't matter. "Whatever, let's just go unpack and head to the school. Ethan, what room is it?"

Ethan led the way to an elevator, swinging the key ring on his finger as Kris kept nudging me. I swear, if she didn't stop soon, I was about to punch her.

"Room 107, 108, here we go, 109..." He stuck the key into the lock, jiggling it and turning it so the door popped open. He opened it wider, and we saw a plain white room with white furniture and tiled floors. And it smelled like hospitals.

"Only two beds..." I noticed, to which Ethan threw a fit.

"I could not afford a room with three beds, so excuse me, and if you don't like it, then you can kiss my-,"

"I didn't say it was a problem. Let's just seperate the guy from girls, so Ethan gets one bed and Kris and I can share, or I can take the couch or something."

"I think Ethan should take the couch since that's the only place he ever sleeps when he comes over is my couch." Kris suggested. Ethan rolled his eyes.

"We'll take shifts or something. I'll take the couch this time, but the next city, if we can't get one with three beds, we'll alternate to see who gets the couch and who get the beds." And with that he dumped his bag on the couch, ripped his jacket off and tossed it there. And then, with a very mature decision, he jumped on one of the beds just to screw it up for one of us, and then jumped off. "So, who wants that bed?"

"I'll fix it and claim it." I went over there, pushed him onto the floor, and then made the bed. Great, now it smells like Ethan Feet. Lovely, just lovely. Kris dumped her stuff on her bed, and we all just lay there lazily, debating whether or not we should get up. The nurse came up and gave us our Pokeballs and Marill back, and we decided to go.

* * *

"Earl, I am! Good it is, you study here!" The spinning fat man danced in a way that was very creepy for an older man into the school house. He invited us in cordially, but for a moment I had a hard time understanding him until I realized that translating his words was easy if I pictured him with Yoda's head.

"He talks kind of like that green dude off of Star Wars..." Kris whispered to me, and I whispered back.

"My thoughts exactly."

"So, what you want to know? Want to be a winner is you?" Ethan was leading us in, so naturally he was up first up to answer the man.

"Huh?" Thanks Ethan, great effort trying to talk to the guy.

"My words you understand not?" Oh boy, just imagine this guy caroling._ A merry Christmas we wish you, a merry Christmas we wish you..._

"Kind of..?" Ethan responded with, causing Earl-he-is to laugh. I half expected him to laugh backwards, like _ah ah ah,_ instead of _ha ha ha_.

"Good enough it is! Raise weak Pokemon good, fast you want?" Do I want to raise Pokemon good and fast? Yes, yes I do. I nodded and my friends kinda just followed my gestures. "Good this is for you! In battle, weak Pokemon out in battle first, then quick switch! Weak pokemon see strong Pokemon fight, and fight it learns! Easy it is to do so..." He droned on and on and on for a while and my brain got too tired to translate him further. I just blankly nodded with my friends until he stopped talking, and when he stopped we thanked him for the lesson (but really just for shutting up) and we went to ask the students for advice on what they know.

I was copying some kids notes into my own notebook, and then he ran out of notes, and I copied the blackboard notes. Pretty soon we were done copying notes and interviewing students about what they know. Why were we even here, we assist a freaking professor, why the hell are we in a school with a teacher who has serious grammer issues!?

* * *

"That was a huge waste of time." I heard Kris and Ethan complaining outside the bathroom door. I had just taken a shower and put on one of the provided bathrobes which was very good at hiding my body, but I couldn't step out yet. Ethan can be a pervert.

I knocked on the door three times. "Hey Ethan, can you, like, leave the room for a moment while I grab my bag and take out some clothes?"

"That depends, how naked are you?" I could hear Kris stumble, meaning she tried to slap him but missed.

"Nothing but a robe." I blushed as I said it and I swear to Arceus that I heard him grin through the door.

"Just naked enough, you can step out." Now I heard the slap make contact with skin, and this one sounded particularly vicious. Through the door I could tell that one was gonna be a mark. "Ow, ow, ow, damn it Kris, okay, I'm going!" I heard another door being opened and shut.

Just before I stepped out, I heard Kris say, "If you need an outfit for your date, then let me get you some clothes. I promise you won't look crazy." I heard her shuffling around and I reached for the knob. "Don't come out yet, Ethan's peeking under the door. Perv." She said kind of hushed, so I gritted my teeth and leaned against the sink. She opened the door and tossed some clothes at me. "Wear those."

"It's not a date by the way." She shut the door before even bothering to listen to me. I groaned and put on the clothes she gave me. A pale purple longsleeve top and dark denim jeans. Hm. Not too fancy, not too casual.

"Let your hair dry naturally, you have an hour, and keep them in pigtails. You can wear that hat, too." Kris advised through the door as she let Ethan back in, who I could hear grumbling.

After a while, I had the clothes on, dry hair in pigtails, my silly hat and red slip-on shoes. I was pretty thankful she gave me her clothes because I probably would've worn the same boring clothes and make him think that I didn't think that he was special enough for me to get dressed up for him. Maybe I'm overthinking this...

Kris was helping me by brushing back the loose strands that were bothersome and leaving the ones that were cute. She watches a lot of TV so that's probably where she got these ideas to make sure all details are perfect.

"Okay, Lyra!" She finally spoke. "You're ready for your date!"

"It's not a date!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**For starters, I did not have internet for the past few days, and I know I rushed this, but that's because I got bored with it, but at least I slipped some Keepershipping in the story!**

**So like I said, I am going to ship Lyra with a lot of dudes, and since she only sees Falkner in Violet City, this is her little romance thing here. She's not a whore or anything, she's just so shippable and I said I was going to put a lot of Lyra ships in this story. I am also a Soulsilvershipper like most of you keep telling me that you are, it's my favorite ship, but since she sees Silver a lot, I'm going to make that one gradual. Besides, they hate each other in the beginning, you guys know this! Same for Heartsoulshipping, but that won't last long or anything. I do think Kris and Ethan are a cute couple, just not quite there yet...**

**So, yea, sorry for the delay, since this one I update a lot, and my friends who read this were texting me like, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!? I NEED THAT NEW CHAPTER NOW!" They almost murdered me for it, but aw well.**

**Next chapter is their date, (Lyra: "It's not a date!") LOL, and see you later at chapter ten!**

**Holy butt, chapter ten already...**

**Bye! :)**


	10. Chapter Ten: Falkner

** Chapter Ten - Falkner**

I waited in the lobby for a while, Cyndauil eating a cookie I bought for him. Cyndaquil must be warming up to me lately, but I don't know why. Maybe because I bribed him with food. Maybe because we haven't lost a battle yet. He even sat beside me today instead of at my feet or ten feet away. He stopped his snack and nudged me, when I looked down at him, he held up the almost-gone cookie to me, offering me his treat. I laughed. "No thanks, I bought that for you, little buddy." He seemed just as happy about that and vigorously consumed it, squeaking sadly when it was gone. "Do you want another one?" I asked, but he shook his head, and, no freaking joke, crawled into my lap and started to play with my face. He patted my cheeks with his little nubby hands, but I was too afraid to touch him or play with him back because I didn't want him to go into a fit.

He stopped and sat down, only to bite my hand.

"Ouch! Hey!" I retracted my hand back, maybe putting on a more angered face than I meant to. But Cyndaquil didn't care; he rolled over on his back, and I could feel the warm fire-holes (That's what I decided to call them, I'm still not sure. I might change it when I think of something cooler.) on my legs. I didn't touch him or push him off, and he barked at me, still on his back. He sat up, poked my belly several times, and lay back down, barking.

Tentatively, I reached my hand to him, and he didn't growl at me yet. I poked his belly, and he barked. I started to pet his tummy, and I think I heard him start to purr. I rubbed his full tummy and he purred happily, getting comfortable. He just wanted a belly rub. "You're a pain-in-my-ass..." I grumbled, but he didn't care. After a few minutes, I heard Cyndaquil snoring in a squeaky voice, meaning he fell asleep.

"Fweet! Fweet fweet!" A familiar bird roosted beside me, and nudged my head. Cyndaquil was still sound asleep, so I put him in his Pokeball. Falkner followed not long after the Pidgey.

"Hey, Lyra!" Everyone in the lobby stopped and stared, just like earlier, and it made me uncomfortable, but I managed to play it off. He wasn't wearing the same blue gym outfit I saw him wearing earlier, but he was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Well, at least now I don't feel weird for wearing jeans.

"Hi Falkner!" I lifted the brim of my huge hat to see him and those intense blue eyes. He had a bright grin, all teeth, and reached a hand down. I placed mine in it, and he led me outside where the sun was setting.

The cool autumn breeze blew by, whipping our hair in our faces, and we giggled as we brushed them out of the way. The sun was nearly gone now, but I could still see the tip of its head peeking at us from the canopy of the trees.

"So," Falkner turned to me with that white grin upon his handsome face. "What would you like to see first?" We had stopped walking at the pond in town as he returned his Pidgey. He nodded across the bridge. "Over there is Sprout Tower. If we head down this direction," He pointed behind us. "We can head to Route 32, and over there is the Ruins of Alph. There's all kinds of places to check out in Violet City."

"Well, why don't you show me the gym?" I suggested. "I kind of want to get to know the place before I end up battling you." His smile got wider.

"Well, of course, Lyra." He took my hand, causing me to blush, and lead me down the main street to the big building trademarked by the gym insignia.

When we got there, he stopped in front of the door, and stared at the insignia, the slanted Pokeball, signaling it was a gym. "I use flying types, more specifically birds. I just want to let you know ahead of time. I want you to do a good job and put up a good fight, but keep in mind, I'm a gym leader, and I won't go easy on you." He squeezed my hand. "Sorry."

"Oh no! It's cool." I looked up at him. "I wouldn't want any less. If you went easy on challengers, then you wouldn't be a gym leader, now would you?"

He smirked. "Yea, I guess I wouldn't. It's nothing personal, I just want to warn you that I won't go easy on you, even though you're cute."

I could feel the heat radiating off of my cheeks, and in my peripheral vision, I saw him look down at me, and I heard him laugh.

"Oh." He laughed even harder at me being nearly speechless. "W-w-well, I won't go any easier on you just because you're attractive either." I countered, and Falkner just laughed.

"Good. Wouldn't want it any other way." He reached into his pocket to pull out some keys, and he unlocked the door. He gestured to the open entrance, inviting me inside. "Ladies first." Tentatively, I stepped inside, and he joined me in the dark room. With the flick of the switch, the lights went on all around the empty space, and some doors pulled back to expose a window above, letting in the sunset. There was a lift, and where that lift lead to was a huge S-shaped wooden walkway, leading to a battle stage. On the outskirts of it was a glass floor, and the look of how narrow those walkways were made me nervous. I started shaking at the thought of having to walk around up there. A few birds were perched above, chirping their bird gossip, and a few even sang at the arrival of the their gym leader.

"Wow," I muttered softly. "So this is where you work. It's pretty cool."

"Come on. We'll go sit up there." I froze up, and he squeezed my suddenly cold and tense hand in his warm ones. His brows creased at my shaking. "You nervous?"

"L-let's just say I'm not a huge fan of gravity." He smirked, holding back a snicker.

"Don't worry about it. I won't drop you." He led me to the lift, and wrapped and arm around my shoulders. "Wouldn't want to let you fall and break your precious little face, now would I?" He laughed, and I stared at him incredulously, not sure whether to laugh or worry about the risk of falling. Not saying I was afraid of heights or anything, but I didn't want to fall and die in a gym. At least let me break my neck over something dignified, like fist-fighting a Charizard or something. Okay, yes, that sounds ridiculous, but it's better than saying, _"Oh, I fell down in a gym."_

His foot pressed a little button, and nothing happened for a moment. A few more moments went by, and I waited patiently, but still there was nothing. "Um, Falkner..?"

The lift shot upwards like an upturned cannon, and I clung to the gym leader, desperately holding on to him for dear life. I didn't scream for fear that if I opened my mouth while flying upwards, something important would come flying out of me, like my lungs or something. Falkner, however, he didn't even flinch.

With my hand in his, he tried to lead me over the narrow walkways, but I wouldn't budge. "Come on now. I promise I won't let you fall." I still wasn't budging, and it ended up with him slinging me over his shoulder and carrying me to the battle stage.

He set me down, and I was grateful for the solid, wide floor that wasn't moving underneath me. He laughed at my relieved expression and sat down beside me, sitting particularly close. "What is your deal with heights? You afraid?"

"No, no, I'm just scared of getting hurt. I also don't like falling and breaking things. I broke my arm when I was five, and it sucked." I explained, and he just nodded.

"Well, I'm a bird master, practically a flying guy. I'm an expert with gravity and not falling. I've been learning how to not fall from high places since I was a little kid, so as long as you're around me, you have nothing to worry about." He smiled and squeezed my hand. "I promise you that." After patting my hand, he let go. "So how about we get to know each other a little bit, Lyra?" I smiled, thinking it was a good idea. I nodded, and he grinned back. "First, I must ask, what is the deal with the huge hat? I mean, it's cute, but it is still an obnoxiously huge hat..."

"Oh it was a birthday present... Hey!" He took it off of me and placed it on his own head. I desperately reached out for it, and ripped it away from him, hugging it to my chest. He creased his brows, and I felt suddenly awkward.

"Sorry," I sighed, but still tightening my grip on the marshmallow-like hat. "It's just, it was from my dad." He nodded slowly, giving me a slight apologetic smile. I fidgeted, and then continued the question session. "Your turn. Did you grow up here, born and raised?"

"Yes, I did. I even inherited this gym from my dad before he took off down the road. He's just out there trying to find something new for fun." He said, and he leaned back comfortably on his hands. "My dad's just roaming around the world, flying off on his Pidgeot-,"

"Your dad has a Pidgeot?" He nodded, and I grinned. "My dad had a Pidgeot too, but we never considered him as _his_ Pidgeot. I always called him Uncle Pidgeot." Falkner's brows creased, making sure he heard me right. Then he started laughing.

"Wow, his Pidgeot was that close to you?" I nodded, all of my good memories rushing back to me. "That's actually pretty cool."

"My dad was a top ranger, like, _the_ top ranger of Johto. Top Ranger Jacob Soul." I explained, smiling at the thoughts of some of my experiences. "Everyone admired him. I remember one time, we were in Sinnoh for a vacation, and we were playing around at Lake Valor, and mom was at the hotel. Pidgeot was asleep in a tree, and dad and I were playing in the water. And I swear I saw the legendary Pokemon that was supposed to be living there! It was totally cool, and I chased after its shadow. I didn't actually see it, it was more of like a silhouette or a phantom, but I knew it was the legendary of the lake. I would get so close to it, and just before I touched it, it would disappear, only to reappear and have me chase it again. It was almost like it was playing with us. Totally cool." Falkner clung to my every word with a smile, very interested in my stories.

"Fascinating. I didn't really get to play much with my dad and his Pokemon, but he was still a cool dad. After all, he did give me his gym." He said. "I noticed you kept saying 'had' and 'did'. Did something happen to him?"

"Yeah, um," It was strange, because I didn't feel awkward about telling him. But I still wasn't going to go into details or anything, I didn't want him to tiptoe around me from now on like my folks back home. "He passed away three years ago."

Falkner was quiet for a moment. "I'm so sorry to hear that Lyra."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it." I fidgeted, and Falkner just patted my back in a comforting manner.

"I guess that's why you were so protective of the hat." I blushed, embarrassed of my earlier reaction.

"Yea, it's the only thing I have left of him." He nodded understandingly.

"Yea, I know the feeling. I guess if someone tried to trash my gym, I'd get a little panicky too. It's the only thing I have from my dad. I just wish I got to see him more." He half-heartedly smiled. "Hey, how about we lean back, and watch the sunset through that window?" He pointed to the glass wall above us, and we lay down, facing the window. The sun seemed to wink at me as it slowly made it's descent past the trees.

"So, Lyra," Falkner scooted closer, and leaned his head to the side to see me. He reached out for my hair, and twisted one of my pigtails between his thumb and forefinger. "Where are you from?"

"New Bark Town." I responded, watching his fingers. "I was born and raised there. I've only left home a few times, like going to Cherrygrove with my parents for shopping, and running errands for the Professor. Before now, the farthest I've ever been was Cherrygrove, but I've always had to go with my friend Ethan because he was the only one of my friends with a Pokemon."

"Oh, so you're a rookie?" He raised a brow, and I nodded. "Well, what Pokemon do you have? I saw you sitting with a, uh, darn, I forget what it's called..."

"Cyndaquil. He's just taking a nap right now." I patted the ball on my belt, then looked up at Falkner. "He's a little punk sometimes, but I think he's warming up to me. I can't be sure though, since he growled at me and threatened to bite me and attack me when we first met. It wasn't until I told him that I wasn't afraid of him that he started to calm down."

"It's common for a Pokemon and trainer to not get along at first. In some cases they never get along at all." I frowned, and looked down at Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "But, with effort and understanding, I'm sure you two will get along fine. Do you know why he didn't like you at first?"

"Well, when the professor gave him to me, he told me that Cyndaquil had a previous trainer who apparently wasn't very nice to him. Elm told me that when he found Cyndaquil, he was cold and sick and beaten, so he took him in and hoped one of us could take care of him." I started to pet the ball, thinking about the sleeping Pokemon inside. "Apparently, Cyndaquil has a bad history with humans, like how I have a bad history with Pokemon."

Falkner raised a brow. "I thought you said your dad was a Pokemon Ranger. You had an Uncle Pidgeot, right?"

"Pidgeot wasn't my bad encounter." I sighed, a little hesitant to recount it for my sake, but I might as well, just as long as I don't go into detail. "A Gyarados was." Falkner hesitantly raised a brow, curious, but not too pushy to ask what happened. "A Gyarados killed my dad and Uncle Pidgeot."

"Oh." He whispered after a moment, but fell silent again, feeling awkward. "I-I am, so really, very sorry to hear that, Lyra."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It was a long time ago." He hesitantly gave me a half-hearted smile. "Gyarados still give me the creeps though, but that's also why I agreed to explore Johto for Professor Elm; so I could maybe get over my fear of them."

"I'm sure it's natural to be afraid of them, I mean, they are huge and scary."

"Yeah, but still, don't worry about it." I reassured him and tried to change the subject. "Well, this is a nice gym and all, but why don't you show me where everything else is now?"

He smiled, an excited glint in those intense blue eyes.

* * *

The moon stood among his fellow stars, like a king among his subjects in the night sky.

Tonight, I had learned that the ruins were better to see during the daytime, so me and my friends would have to wait until morning to go. Falkner and I were checking out the ancient remains of the past, until Falkner's radio was picking up strange signals. It kinda creeped us out, and then we felt like someone was watching us. It wasn't until we heard a faint, ghostly, echoing scream in the woods and saw shadows moving that we thought the place was haunted and ghosts were coming for us, and believe me, we hauled our asses out of there pretty damn quick. After a few minutes of calming down, we laughed our asses off at the previous fright.

We were now exiting the ground floor of Sprout Tower. We didn't go up because they wouldn't let us unless I decided to challenge them. I was going to, but not yet, it would have to a wait a day or so because I still need to train and maybe find a good Pokemon to add to my team if I can.

"Just to let you know, I want you to challenge Sprout Tower before you challenge me. It's like a rite of passage, and I also want you to be completely prepared."

"Right, right, because you ain't going easy on me, even though I'm cute, correct?"

He laughed, and looked at me with an endearing smile. "Yeah, as much as I enjoy your company, and your face I might add, I can't go easy on you."

"It's cool. I won't ease up on you either, so you better prepare too!"

"I'll be sure of it." He smiled. I noticed he walked particularly close to me, and I actually didn't mind. "You know, Lyra," He placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me, and turned me around to face him. "I really like you. You're a pretty cool chick."

"I like you too, Falkner! We really should hang out often!" I hadn't realized that we were already nearing the Pokemon Center. I was a little disappointed to see that red-roof because then that meant my time with him was nearing to an end. "You're a really cool dude." I nudged him with my elbow and he smirked playfully at me.

We stopped by the sliding doors, and he watched my face, fidgeting a little bit. "So..."

"So..?"

"You know, I'm a little sad that you won't stay in Violet long. I mean, I understand you're a traveling trainer, but... Well, you're different from some other girls I've hung out with. You're not just cute, you seem determined to win a battle against me. Most girls automatically surrender to me, and they have boring personalities. You're pretty fun." He looked around at the sky, taking in just how late it was. "Just, um, come visit sometime, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem!" I smiled. "And I can't wait to get my first badge from you." I winked at him, and he laughed, and I laughed too. "Well, I guess I should go inside..."

"Yeah..." He fidgeted but didn't leave yet. "Look, um, I'll see you later I guess. But hey, if you ever need anything while you're in town..."

"You'll be the first one I go to. I guess I'll go now." I was just about to reach out my hand to shake, but he pulled me in for a hug. I could tell my cheeks were warming up, but I comfortably wrapped my arms around his torso as well, and buried my face in his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my own head.

He smelled like woods, but in a good way, like pine trees. And he was very warm as he held me, and I kind of enjoyed the hug. After a moment, he finally, but reluctantly pulled back.

"Goodnight Lyra."

"Goodnight Falkner."

His eyes sayed something I couldn't quite comprehend, and he smiled at me one last time before turning around and walking to the main street and probably home.

I sighed and turned to the Pokemon Center, and braced myself for a particular blue-haired female who was probably dying at the door, anticipating my arrival.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I know, I know, I've been gone for a long while, and I am so sorry about that! And I know this chapter sucked, but it'll get better. Looking forward to the battle!**

**Anyway, their little fling will only last maybe two or three chapters, maybe have a reappearance in future chapters or something, because since I'm trying to fit in so many Lyra shippings, I have to keep them short or people will think she's a whore, which she is not! She's just so shippable and I like most of her ships! I'm sorry for making you guys wait for so long for this! **

**And just in case this wasn't enough for you Keepershippers, don't worry, there will be a few more chapters on it before we move on to the next ship, and those will be better written and have more detail and affection and whatever else, so stay tuned!**

**And I'll try to update sooner, it's just I am so freaking busy being tossed back and forth between work and school and not having any free time. Not to mention that I am down to my last few sips of coffee right now...**

**So send reviews, and I'm sorry that this one wasn't quite that good, I got a case of writer's block, and I'm sorry. I might fix this up and replace it just to fix it, but I think this will do for now.**

**Sorry for the excuses, but please send reviews and let me know of anything I need to work on or add or even if you have a little idea for me to put in a chapter just in case I get writer's block again. If I like your idea, I'll give you credit, don't worry, I just might need a little help since I've been having a hard time writing anything this week. I'll try to stay original, but still, just in case...**

**Wow, long note, so this is good-bye for now. Thanks for reading, and please review! :)**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Pizza, Partners and Him

**Chapter Eleven - Pizza, Partners and Him**

"So, did he hold your hand a lot?" Kris asked, bouncing around me excitedly. I swear, if she did not stop...

"He held my hand," I crossed my arms, wishing she would back off. It wasn't her business about what I did with Falkner. We didn't even do anything, really, we just hung out and got to know each other, so I really didn't know why she was so curious. I told her everything that happened last night when I got to our room.

"But did he hold it a lot, or was it just to drag you around, or did he say you have soft hands, or-,"

"Oh my Arceus, Kris, _SHUT UP_! I already told you, nothing really happened!" I screamed just a little bit too loud, and it may have been a little bit unneccessary, but maybe she just needed to shut up a little bit. She looked up at me with wide eyes, taking in just how annoyed I was with her. I sighed. "Look, Kris, I'm sorry. I just, I mean I told you everything, and it's not really important anyway." Kris's eye twitched. "Look, let's just drop it and continue looking through this route. I'm pretty sure we don't have all the data we need from Route 32."

"Alright," She sulked for a moment, but then perked back up again as she took a picture of a little Hoppip with her Pokedex and registered some information. "So, did he kiss you?" I froze and blushed at the thought, but my other best friend came to my rescue.

"Kris, what did she just say!?" Ethan was also getting annoyed with her. I understand being excited for your friend to have met a cute guy, but it's not like he just proposed to me or anything! "Just drop it, okay." Marill rolled his eyes at Kris and stuck his tongue out. Ethan patted the head of Ekans, a Pokemon he just caught an hour ago, who was hanging around his neck.

"Alright, alright, just calm down. I was just curious." She whispered to me, "Well, did he?"

"No! Now stop it already!" I stomped away to a patch of grass far away from my overly perky best friend. Cyndaquil followed not far after and looked up at me with a concerned squeak. I could hear Ethan getting onto her and telling her that I might need some space. After all, she didn't stop questioning me from the moment I came through the door. I didn't even get sleep last night because she was begging for answers, and that might explain why I was a little bit cranky. "Come on Cyndaquil, let's look for Pokemon over here. I think we've got most of them so far." He nodded and we inspected the bushes and trees.

I absent-mindedly leaned against a tree and gazed around at the canopy. Remembering Falkner's hug, I felt my face heat up slightly, but it probably wasn't enough to be a noticable blush. I remember his strong arms wrapping me close, feeling his lean body in my own arms, and the way he smelled of pine and wilderness. He was very warm and sweet to talk to. He honestly and openly expressed his apologies for what happened to my dad, and he held my hand tightly as we went through the ruins. We were handling it just fine, sticking close to each other, until we heard something scream angrily in the woods. Then we hauled ass to get out of there, and moved on to the other aspects of Violet City. Falkner was just an overall dream guy, he had the looks, the personality, the adventurous and fun atmosphere and apparently he was a good battler and could totally keep me safe. If only we hugged a little bit longer...

"Baaahh."

A strange bleat awoke me from my trance. "Huh?"

"Baah!" A fuzzy thing nudged my leg, and I looked down to see that cutest little sheep looking up at me. She tilted her head to the side and looked up at me with interest. "Baaahh!"

"Aww!" She was so cute as she bleated happily at me in greeting. She stood on her hind legs and leaned her front ones on me, as if to get a better look at my face. I laughed at her, and leaned to down to play with her. Cyndaquil didn't seem as amused since he walked off to examine some flowers off to his side. I patted the little creature's head. "And what's your name, sweetie?"

"Baah!" Right, as if you expect me to understand that. I pulled out my Pokedex and took its picture as the device gathered information on it from the picture. Apparently, it was called a Mareep and it was an electric sheep Pokemon. Hmm...

"Hey Kris?" I called for my friend, who came over to me with a brow raised. She didn't seem upset that I yelled at her for being a little obnoxious, but then again, nothing really bothered her anyway. "You're the best when it comes to types. Do you remember what flying-types are weak to?"

"Easy. Ice, rock and electric-types." She said without hesitation, and turned around to go back to what she was doing. Weak to electric-types... Interesting...

"Hey Ethan! I need something!" I stood and ran up to him, Cyndaquil following and Mareep bleating at me. I saw her shuffle around, deciding whether or not to follow me.

He looked at me over his shoulder ad raised his brows in question. "Whatcha need?"

"Do you have any spare Pokeballs that I can use?" I asked shyly, and he rolled his eyes in thought as he dug into his bag.

"Um, I might have a few or so..." He hummed, and held out two red balls to me. "Here you go!" He placed them in my hand softly. "Why you need 'em? See something you like?"

I pointed over to the Mareep who was now chewing on some grass, and Ethan smiled at me.

"Nice one, looks like a good strong Mareep over there." Hearing her name, the little sheep looked up at me and bleated. He placed a hand on my shoulder gently in a brotherly manner. "Come on, I'll help you catch her, just do what I say, alright?" I nodded, and he patted my back and laughed. "Alright, let's go catch you a Pokemon!"

* * *

"Cyndaquil, use Ember!"

My partner did as I asked and his back erupted in flames, sending sparks and embers in all directions. Mareep's coat deflected most of the heat, but her face was unprotected and she winced as the flames slashed her cheek.

Mareep tackled Cyndaquil, but he didn't flinch at the attack, and instead rolled around to explode into flames again, but this time the explosion was more intense, and it sent Mareep flying into a nearby tree.

"Good, good one," Ethan congratulated my Pokemon as Mareep stood up, a little bit dizzy, but up nonetheless. "Alright, have Cyndaquil keep her cornered in one spot. That way she can't move out of the way when you throw the Pokeball. The last thing you want is for the target to run away."

I did as he instructed. "Cyndaquil, keep her steady! Hold her right there!" Cyndaquil barked to confirm my request, and he kept her herded by the tree trunk, barking at her and growling every time she made a move to escape.

"Alright, now what you're gonna do," He was standing closely behind me, and he reached down and placed his hand on top of mine. "Just pull back and throw it. Gently, nice and easy, don't forget to aim." His hand guided my arm, and I pulled back, took a deep breath, and sent the ball flying in the direction of Mareep.

I missed by an inch and it flew into a bush.

"Don't worry about it, these things happen." He patted my back. "Marill, go get that Pokeball, we can still use it." The blue creature obeyed and ran off into the bush to forage the Pokeball.

"Damn, I can't believe I missed," I groaned.

"Just keep cool, and- _Dammit Cyndaquil_, go get her!" Ethan yelled as Mareep ran off in another direction. Cyndaquil barked again, and he set himself of fire and rolled around in circles...

"W-what move is that, Ethan!?" Ethan's brows creased, then he smiled at me.

"Congratulations, he knows Flame Wheel! This might work..." He watched as Cyndaquil caught up to the electric-type. "Cyndaquil can trap Mareep in a ring of fire if he just-,"

"Cyndaquil! Trap it in a ring of fire! Don't worry about setting things on fire, Marill can fix it!" I called out, and he circled the Mareep without hesitation, setting the grass ablaze. Mareep shrieked at the flames surrounding her, and Cyndaquil stopped to bark at the fire walls containing the little sheep.

"Lovely, now let me help you out," Ethan squeezed the hand that held the Pokeball, and he pulled it back for me. "You ready? I'm gonna help you catch her now."

"Yeah, let's do this." I took a deep breath and focused on my target. I could see her shuffling inside the fire circle that surrounded her, trying to find a way out.

"Alright, ready, set," His breath tickled my cheek slightly. "_Throw_!" He guided my hand outward and sent the ball flying from my fingertips... It arched in the sky, twisting and dancing its way through the air to my target...

The ball opened once within catch range, and in a flash of blinding light, the Mareep was gone. The red ball fell to the ground and shook lightly as it fel behind the flames. Cyndaquil curled up rolled around again, but didn't set himself on fire, rather rolled over to suffocate the flames. It beeped faintly as it shivered, but once it stopped moving, I heard a satisfying _ding_.

The ball stopped moving as it lay on the ground. I knew that the sound of the ding was confirming a catch.

I stared at my accomplishment, almost afraid to confirm that I caught it, but I did.

"E-Ethan..."

"Congratulations, Lyra." He said, smiling at me proudly. He gave me a tight one-arm hug and then pat my back. "You just caught a Pokemon!"

"I-I did? I did... Holy Miltank, I did!" I jumped up and down excitedly and danced over to my Pokeball which contained my new partner. "Cyndaquil, Cyndaquil come on! Let's meet her!" Cyndaquil barked and rushed over to us, and once he was at my feet, I pressed the button on my Pokeball.

"Bahh, Bahh baaahh!" Mareep bleated in glee and danced around my legs, laughing.

"Wow, you put up a good fight, little fella!" I giggled and pat her head happily and she nuzzled her head against my leg. When Mareep turned to Cyndaquil, she tackled him playfully, bleating and smiling gladly. Cyndaquil hissed at her and tried to shrug out from under her, but she bleated, and by her tone, I'm pretty sure she was asking him to play.

Marill came running out of the bushes and gave Ethan back his Pokeball. Ethan took it and placed it in his bag. "Marill, did you meet the new kid?" He laughed and pointed to Mareep. Marill squeaked and waddled over to the electric-type to play. Ethan laid down his arm and Ekans slithered down to greet the others.

"Hey, what did I miss? I heard something cute..." Kris came over and stopped at the sight of Mareep. She squealed excitedly and ran over to her, frightening my new partner a little. "Oh my Arceus, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen! Where did you get her?" She scratched Mareep's fur playfully, fluffing it.

"Right over here. She seems strong-,"

"She's super cute! Haha, oh that reminds me! Check this out!" She stood and took a Pokeball with a big smile. She tossed it in the air, and when it landed on the button, out of the light came a weird, but cute blue, fish/salamander critter. "Tada! I caught a Wooper!" The blue Pokemon whooped and did a flip. When he landed, he did a little dance, and bounded over to the group of Pokemon at our feet.

"Hey, how cool. Is it a water type?" Ethan asked as he bent down to check out the team, who were having a fun time playing.

"Water and ground, so it's weak against grass-types, but not electric ones. Electric moves actually have no effect, so that's a plus, but when it comes to grass, it might become a problem. I'll have to catch sometime advantageous to grass to even that out though..." She started to ramble on about types, but when she caught our bored stares, she laughed awkwardly. "So, yeah, to answer your question, it's a water-type."

"Good to know." Ethan commented, and he sat beside Marill to see how the new additions were getting along. "Man, look at that. Pokemon are so different from people when you think about it, because people are shy around strangers. Pokemon don't care who or what they're gonna meet, they just greet each other with a friendly smile and play time. It's pretty weird, but in a good way."

It was true. Ekans was slithering up to Chikorita, but it seemed he gave her the creeps since she slowly backed up from him, but smiled shyly to be nice. Marill and Wooper were wrestling, and Mareep was still trying to get Cyndaquil to play, but to no avail. Cyndaquil managed to wriggle out from under her, and he tried to run away from her in my direction, but Mareep leapt on top of him and squealed happily. Cyndaquil just barked at her, but she must've been super playful and oblivious.

"Guys, I'm hungry. Are y'all?" I asked my group. Ethan nodded, and Kris just shrugged.

"Yea, I guess. Who has money?" Kris asked, rubbing her tummy.

"I'll pay. Last night, when I was-,"

"Dating Falkner..?" Kris raised a brow playfully.

"IT WASN'T A FUCKING DATE!" I heard my voice sound like one of those Pokewood monsters, so I instantly calmed down because I scared myself and Kris and the crew. "Anyway, we passed by this cool-looking pizza parlor. You guys down?"

"Yeah, I'm down as long you're paying." Ethan stood up and returned Ekans to his Pokeball.

Kris shrugged, shaking slightly from my sudden outburst. "Yeah, I like pizza."

"Well, cool, I'll show y'all where it is." Kris returned Wooper, and carried Chikorita in her arms. I let Mareep follow me on the ground with Cyndaquil, but Cyndaquil didn't seem to like that plan. Mareep giggled and nudged Cyndaquil, who blushed while hissing and tried to crawl up my leg. "Um, Cyndaquil, are you okay?" He shook his head and growled when Mareep got closer. I sighed and leaned down to pick up Cyndaquil in my arms. He was tense, but not ranting at me, instead sighing of relief.

"Hey Cyndaquil," Kris giggled. "I think that Mareep has a little crush on you!" She tapped his head, but he nipped at her and growled, snuggling into my arms. "Well, gosh, Cyndaquil, I was just making a joke!" Mareep, however, was blushing slightly as she followed behind.

"Well, it's this way, so just come with me." I lead my friends back into town.

* * *

"Okay, the boy wanted a large zesty three-meat treat pizza, the bluenette wanted a medium cheese and you, Cutie Pie, wanted a large supreme, right?" The waiter asked with his cart of pizzas and cheese sticks.

"Yeah, that's right. Ethan was sitting here," I pointed out where my friends wanted their food since Ethan went to the restroom and Kris was talking to this little girl and her Igglybuff, squealing over its cuteness. "Her food goes here, and you can set mine here." The waiter did as asked, and then he handed out drinks on the table.

"Okay, I'll come drop off the bill in a few minutes. And, say girl, why don't you write your number on that receipt for me, huh Cutie Pie?" He was very flattering, but all I would do to accept the compliments was give him a decent tip when we left.

"I'm fifteen."

"And I'm not a pedophile!" The young adult turned around hastily and left rather quickly. I snorted.

The restaurant was an outside parlor with a playground for Pokemon, and the tables were park benches. The little shack was where the restrooms and the order line was. I chose the bench under the shade of a tree and our Pokemon were playing and lounging around beside me.

I took a pulled a slice off of my pizza, put it on a little plate and handed it to Cyndaquil. "Here you go, buddy. Mareep, come here girl and get your food." I called, and the little sheep waddled over after playing with some guy's Growlithe. I placed the slice on another plate and placed it a few good feet away from Cyndaquil, just to be safe.

"Damn, I could smell that from all the way on the other side of the street corner!" Ethan came running up and immediately he and Marill dug in, pausing only to offer Ekans a slice or two.

"I thought you were in the restroom?" I took a bite of my pizza, loaded heavily with all the veggies, just the way I liked it. Unlike Ethan's, who had the pizza that many Tauros and Grumpig and many other meaty Pokemon had to die to create. I wasn't saying I was a vegetarian, because I'm not, I just couldn't bear to eat that much meat in one sitting without feeling bad.

"Well, when I left, I saw a sexy babe walking by, and I just couldn't help but follow." He shrugged, then continued to stuff his face. Typical guy...

"Then you chose pizza over her?"

He shook his head and tried to swallow, but his mouth was too full.

"Boyfriend?"

"Worse, she's engaged. I saw the ring after they met up." He took another bite, and Marill patted his leg in a sympathetic way, but his trainer shrugged. "But it's cool. I was probably way outta her league anyway."

"You mean vice versa?"

"Shut the hell up." I laughed at him, and he smirked in response which made me feel better.

Kris joined us moments later, and we sat there eating our pizzas and talking about everything under the sun. One thing I learned over the past few minutes, Pokemon love pizza!

"No, I think the movie would actually be better if they used something cuter than a Riolu and Lucario. Maybe something like a Mienfoo? It didn't even have to be a fighting-type-,"

"You see, Kris, that's where you're wrong." Ethan said. We've been discussing movies for the past few minutes, and right now the subject of debate was the Lucario Girl versus Brycen-Man series. "Lucario made the actress look like more of a badass because it's a badass Pokemon. Not to mention that the more badass a girl is, the sexier she is."

"I don't think the movie was made to portray her as sexy. They were trying to make a good, family film featuring an attractive and strong heroine."

Ethan shrugged. "Look, I only watched it because I thought she was hot. I looked her up, her name is Rosa Grey, she lives in Unova and she has a twin brother named Nate, who has major hair issues. I think you two would make a cute couple." He winked at Kris, and she rolled her eyes. "She's a great actress. She's pretty fucking hot too."

"Doesn't she have a boyfriend? Hug, or something."

"It's Hugh, I think." I butted in. "What kind of name is hug?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ethan slammed his fists on the table. "Hot damn, why is every attractive woman taken?" He pouted, staring at his empty tray.

They started calculating his chances of getting with her, which seemed pretty bad, and when Kris uploaded pictures of them to show him on her Pokegear, he flipped out even more.

"I'm so much more attractive than that guy is! Look at him, he's like a fucking vampire wearing tight-pants! And his head looks like a swollen Quilfish!" He started ranting, which I found hilarious. He went on about it for a few minutes and it was quite the show, especially when Marill started to mock him.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I reflexively turned to see who it was.

"Hey Lyra."

I blinked a few times to clarify it was him. Last night still sort of seemed like a dream to me. "Falkner! Hi!" I patted the spot beside me, inviting him to sit down. He happily took the invitation, and he sat so close that his legs were touching mine firmly. I pointed to my half-eaten pizza on my tray. "You want a slice?"

"Don't mind if I do." He took one and chewed it eagerly, smiling at me after he swallowed his first bite. "How'd you know my favorite kind of pizza?"

My eyes widened and I smiled back at him. "No way! We like the same pizza, that's weird!" We laughed at the coincidence, and he took another bite of the pizza. I almost forgot about my friends sitting across from me.

"Oh, Falkner, I'm sorry! I should introduce to my friends. We grew up together back home, and I trust these guys with everything!" Falkner looked up them and they smiled kindly. "This is my metaphorical brother, Ethan," I gestured to the kid with the backwards hat.

"'Sup?" He extended a hand and shook cordially. "So I hear you're the gym leader?"

"That's right. Are you a potential challenger?" Falkner released Ethan's hand.

"I'm a definite challenger." He smiled, a glint in those eyes, and I felt Falkner get excited at the thought of a good battle.

"And this is my home-girl, Krystal. We just call her Kris, though." She smiled much brighter than Ethan did.

"Hi, I'm Lyra's BFF!" She said in her perky tone, instantly uplifting everyone with her exuberant and cheerful attitude. "That stands for best friend forever, by the way!"

"Well, it's great to meet you guys! You're all Lyra talked about last night." He said, nudging me in my side. I giggled, feeling giddy because he was so close to me. I've never been this close to a hot guy before yesterday, so he still made my heart race.

"Really, Lyra?" Ethan teased. "You didn't have to brag about how amazing your best friend is to your new boy-toy over here." Kris did not hesitate to smack him upside the head for saying that. I blushed heavily and hoped Falkner didn't notice.

"Well, from her childhood stories that she told me, you guys seem pretty cool." Falkner complimented being the charmer that he is. "I kind of wish I grew up with people like you from the things that she told me."

"It's true. You guys are pretty cool and you were my only conversation piece." I admitted, and I felt Ethan softly kick me under the table playfully.

The longer that they talked, the more they bonded, and they got along very well.

I think I'm starting to really like Falkner.

* * *

Falkner hung out with us for the rest of the day as we trained on Route 32. He mostly paid attention to me, though, and he gave me training and battling tips and gave me helpful advice. We stayed behind when Kris and Ethan went to the room early so I could finish up with Mareep. Now she figured out a manuever to take out Bellsprout in a one-hit KO. Currently, he was taking me to my room.

"You did good today. I'm proud of you, rookie." He commented with a smile and patted my head, keeping careful to not knock off my hat.

"Thanks for helping me out. But remember, you need to train to, Falkner! I'm expecting a tough trainer worthy of his Gym Leader title, and I better not get any less than that!"

"Oh don't worry about it. I was training this morning before I came across you and your friends today." He winked at me. "It's you who needs to keep training."

"Well then, don't worry about it, because I am determined to win against you." I nudged him playfully, and he laughed.

The elevator stopped on my floor, and he escorted me through the hallway to room 109. He stopped at the door to say his awkward farewells.

"Well, today was fun." He said, standing so close that if my nose were an inch longer, it would touch his neck. I gazed back up at him, feeling the same satisfaction of a good day.

"It was. I'm looking forward to the battle." I winked, but he looked down.

"I'm not." My brows creased in confusion. I thought he was excited too..?

"Why not? You afraid of losing, or afraid of me losing and not wanting to be your friend anymore, because I promise that won't happen."

"No, no it's not that."

"Well, what is it?"

"Because once we battle," He pursed his lips tightly before continuing. "Once we battle, your business in town will be over and done with. You won't have anything to keep you here anymore." He looked down sadly.

"Oh, Falkner..." I looked up at him, but he wouldn't make eye contact. I lifted his chin with my small hands to make him look at me. "I promise that won't happen. I swear, as soon as I leave town, I'll hurry to come right back as soon as I can. I promise I'll come hang out as often as I can, okay?"

He made eye contact with me, and smirked slightly. "Alright, that makes me feel a little better, Lyra." He chuckled and hugged me, and I didn't hesitate to hug him back tightly. I could still smell pine on him, and I think I've decided my favorite scent as I buried my face into him. His breath tickled the back of my neck and I held onto the firm, warmth of his body.

But all too soon, he let go.

"Goodnight, Lyra."

"Goodnight, Falkner."

He turned to go down the hall, and as I took out my key to place it in the lock...

He felt his lips on the top of my head, and I looked to see his blushing face walk hurriedly down the hall.

Sporting the same shade of crimson on my cheeks, I hurriedly shoved my key in the lock, and hurried past my friends to get ready for bed.

And that night, I dreamed of Falkner.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I updated before the weekend, so I won a bet with my friend, so yay me! Goal in life accomplished (Not really, Lol!) Girl owes me three dollars! :)**

**Anyway, most importantly, I really hope that you like this chapter, and send reviews if you liked it or saw something that needed fixing or just to say hey!**

**Long chapter, now I'm done with chapter eleven! **

**Damn, I started this late December, and now it's February, and I'm already at chapter eleven! I must need a life, but my friend is forcing me to go to a party with him tomorrow night, so I guess that counts as a social life...**

**I don't know why I throw in my life references in my notes, but too bad!**

**Hope you liked it, bye guys! :)**


	12. Chapter Twelve: Flirts and Jerks

**Chapter Twelve - Flirts and Jerks**

"Mareep! Don't eat that, silly!" I rushed over to my Pokemon who had just tried to take a big bite out of a bright yellow apricorn. However, she was unsuccessful because those things have some hard-ass shells. She whimpered and rubbed her snout in pain, as if her teeth hurt. I sighed and pried her mouth open, playing dentist. "You don't have any broken teeth, but be careful, okay? Only eat what I feed you." I instructed. Mareep whimpered and nodded weakly. I snorted and continued to pick apricorns.

We were at Route 31, Mareep and Cyndaquil accompanying me as we picked apricorns. Ethan was inspecting the Dark Cave to see if there were any new Pokedex entries, and I gave him a bag of donuts when he left the group. Kris and Chikorita were following me around with the usual chit-chat, snacking on the breakfast pastries, and Wooper was swimming and playing the pond nearby. Occasionally he would pop out of the water and squirt one of us in the face, only to giggle and submerge again.

"These donuts are a little dry..." Kris mumbled, but continued to eat them. "I mean, they aren't bad, but they aren't my mom's, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. They don't have a _Miltank Morning_ shop in town, I only found a _Deerling Donuts_. I've never had them, but they're not as good as _Miltank Morning Donuts and Coffee_. My dad loved that place in Cherrygrove." I mumbled, still nibbling on my glazed and sprinkled donut. "I love donuts, but you know what's better? Muffins."

"I like banana nut muffins."

"I like wild berry muffins. And Ethan will eat anything, you know?" Kris laughed and agreed, and we continued to drone on and on about trivial stuff.

Cyndaquil just sat under a tree, not too far away, and he stared at the road blankly. He's been doing this all morning, just zoning out and having several emotions on his face, changing from time to time. That used to happen to me a lot too, a few years back when I would remember things of my past, try to imagine situations happening differently or thinking about anything to forget. I knew to leave him alone because I have my moments when I want to sit around and be alone to think. Judging by his emotions, he must be reminiscing about things.

Mareep occasionally went over to him and nudged him, but he would dismiss her, and go back to staring in the distance. Right after the rejection, she would merrily skip back to me and hunt for berries and apricorns.

"So, you know," Kris started talking slow, and her tone changed to her gossip tone. I instantly tensed. "I noticed that you were pretty quick to go to bed last night. You just rushed to get into your pajamas and immediately dove under the covers. Like you were hiding..."

_Oh Arceus, please don't..._

"It was like you were desperate to avoid our attention..."

_Damn it, Kris! Why do you have to notice everything_?

"So, just out of curiosity," She elbowed me lightly in my ribcage jokingly. "Did something happen between you and Falkner last night?" She grinned deviously, and that mischievous gaze made me want to run away.

"No, no, nothing happened. He just showed me a few battle techniques and walked me home." She watched me with an _'Are-you-kidding-me?'_ kind of look. "That's all." She raised a brow. "I swear."

"You swear, huh?" She swiftly pulled the brim of my hat up and off of my head. I flinched and reached up for it, but Chikorita helped her by lifting vines to raise the hat high above me. Not to mention she was a little taller than me. "Well, that bright-ass red blush on your cheeks say otherwise, don't they Chikorita?" Chikorita chirped in response.

I stuttered and fumed. "I am not, I repeat, NOT blushing!" I leapt for my hat, but to no avail. I sighed and gave up on reaching for it, and stood there with my arms crossed. "I-it's just, um, it's hot out here, that's all."

Kris snorted. "It's autumn, honey."

"WHATEVER!" I stomped the ground, just wanting nothing more than my hat back and for her to shut up.

She snapped her fingers, and Chikorita lowered the hat back down in Kris's hand. She held the hat out to me, and I snatched it back. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm just messing with you, dude." She patted my head playfully and I slipped the hat back on.

A few minutes passed and she helped me pick a few more apricorns. There wasn't really a reason, but I heard there was a guy who could make cool Pokeballs with these things. Plus I needed something to distract me and waste time since as soon as I battle Falkner, then there's really nothing keeping me here. I really think he's cool, but I can't stay here forever. That's why I'm stalling myself.

"He totally kissed you, didn't he?"

...

Now my face was totally on fire.

Her eyes grew wide at my sudden freezing. "Oh my Mew._ Oh. My. Mew_. He did! Oh my gosh, he totally did, he kissed you!" She wrapped her arms around me and started jumping up and down excitedly. "He kissed you! He _motherfucking_ kissed you!"

"No! He didn't!" She immediately stopped, and looked at me.

"B-but, your reaction-,"

"He kissed the back of my head. He didn't actually kiss me."

She looked at me incredulously. "Are you serious?" I nodded and she mouthed _'damn'_ under her breath. Then she just shrugged. "Meh. It's something, right?" I groaned, but nodded. She patted my back. "It's still progress."

Suddenly, I didn't feel like picking the fruits off of trees anymore. I called for my Pokemon and fed them a few berries before we headed back to town. We decided to wait for Ethan to come out of the cave before we left. It wouldn't be long though, he has this secret fear, not of the dark, but of things bigger than him in the dark. If it's a little critter, he won't mind. If it's a fucking Ursaring, he'll run screaming like a baby.

Kris sighed as she gathered her things. "You and Falkner are gonna make me some pretty babies to take care of on weekends. Hey, can your kids call me 'Auntie Krissy, Supreme Bitch of Awesomeness'? And can I spoil them?"

"Well, whether or not I have them with Falkner, which I doubt, I've known him for two days dude, I don't think I'd let them call you a bitch."

"I didn't say bitch. I said 'Biotch.' You know, _beee-otch_." She said it slowly.

"Still, don't use that language around my kids ever, okay 'Auntie Krissy, the Adult with Money to Buy Stuff for My Kids Because She's a Spoiler?'" She snorted at her name, commented that she liked her previous name better, and it wasn't long before Ethan came around and started conversing with us on the way back home.

"Ethan, tell Kris that I am not letting my kids call her a crazy bitch!" Kris was still on that because she thought it was freaking hilarious, however, I disagreed.

"Why not? She's a total bitch." He said it casually as he tossed the paper donut bag into a trash bin. Kris didn't hesitate to smack him upside the head.

"Not nice." She hissed through her teeth. Ethan rolled his irritatingly.

"Oh, I see. I can't call you a bitch, but Lyra's kids can?"

"Oh my Arceus, calm yourselves. I don't have kids!" I hollered, and I suddenly felt a presence behind me.

"You wanna change that?" I heard a deep voice ask from behind me, and warm arms tighten around my waist. When I looked, Falkner was laughing his ass off before releasing my waist and wrapping an arm around me.

Kris and Ethan stared for a moment, but busted out laughing as soon as they realized what he said. I, however, was blushing like a million mini-Charmanders were crawling under my cheeks.

"Perv," Was all I could say before we continued to walk forward. I held the half-empty bag of breakfast pastries up to him. "Donut?"

"Where'd you get those?" I pointed to the _Deerling Donuts_ label. He frowned and shook his head. "Nah, those are too dry for me."

* * *

We ended up resting in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. I had just finished off the last donut, and Mareep threw the bag in the trash. The whole time, Ethan and Kris were talking while our Pokemon were healing from our earlier practice battles. I went against Kris, and I won, and Falkner playfully sparred with Ethan using his new Pidgey. He said the battle didn't count for the badge since that Pidgey was meant more of as a pet and a present for his mother, so he used the bird to help Ethan out, and Ethan won. Ethan and I fought, and though I won, it was pretty close.

Falkner was talking about his gym leader friends, but the whole time, I could tell he was distracted by something on my face. I didn't say anything until he laughed randomly while staring at my nose.

"Alright, what is it? Do I have a freckle or something?" I said, awaiting his answer. He smirked, and then placed an arm around me, his face getting rather close.

"It's not that, Lee-Lee, it's just-,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why did you just call me Lee-Lee? How'd you know about that?" I looked at him suspiciously as he called me by my most hated nickname.

He smirked again. "Ethan told me." He jutted a thumb towards the dark-haired idiot behind him.

"Ethan! I thought we got rid of that nickname when we were little?!" I hollered, and he just laughed and went back to talking to Kris, totally ignoring me. I glared at him and then turned back to Falkner. "I'll kill him. One of these days, he's gonna be dead in a ditch, and it's gonna be my fault."

Falkner laughed, a gentle, yet hearty laugh. Then he looked at me with an amused face. "Anyway, Lyra, it seems like you have some donut icing on your nose."

I blushed immediately, and I tried to lift my hand to wipe it off, but Falkner's big hands pressed both of mine down on my legs so I couldn't. My face heated up immensely as he leaned close to look at it. Ugh, I was so embarressed, and all I wanted was to wipe it off right now so he could stop staring at it so intently.

He leaned forward and licked it off of my nose.

"W-whoa! Dude!" I flinched and my eyes went wide as he did so, and when he pulled back, his eyes smiled genuinely while his lips smiled deviously.

"Mmm, if only you had icing on your lips..." He muttered almost too low for me to hear, but I knew that he wanted me hear that alone. No one else saw the previous action or heard his teasing words, but that was fine by me. He started laughing, and I chuckled nervously. He looked down, smiling for a moment, and then gazed up at me from under his lashes. I never actually appreciated how long they were, and how much they enhanced his intense blue eyes.

"And what if I did have icing on my lips?" I teased back, using my best mock-seductive voice, and he chuckled at how deep and raspy and sexy it was. He seemed to blushing as well.

"Do you want to know what I'd do if that icing were on your lips, Lyra?" His seductive voice was much more impressive than mine, but that was because I was being sarcastic; his voice was much more willing to be in character than my own. He leaned close to my head, and his lips grazed the shell of my ear. "I'd give it a taste." That was all he said as he pulled back and looked me up and down, giving me that sweet, sexy smile.

And then we both laughed at the utter ridiculous awkwardness of the situation.

Maybe next time the icing will be in a more convenient spot.

* * *

"Ethan, are you gonna train in here with me?" I asked him as we stood in front of the tower. Kris was at the PokeMart packing some supplies, and she said she was gonna check out the ruins later. She took my advice and was gonna check it out at noon in the daytime.

"I'd rather go fight Falkner right now..." He complained about the training facility. He was always so impatient.

"Aw, come on! Falkner said he won't accept my challenge unless I train here, so he might do the same to you." Ethan didn't budge. "Dude, it's like a rite of passage, we have to!"

"Come on, Lyra, it's not a freaking law or anything."

"I just don't want to go alone, you know. Besides, I bought you donuts this morning!"

"While I like me a nice warm donut, those ones happened to be a tad bit dry. Besides, just because _you_ have to doesn't mean I do."

"No, but you should." I turned back to the building and tightened my grip on my Pokeballs. "Look, if you don't wanna, it's fine, I can go by myself. Or you could go check out the spooky ruins with Kris..."

"Come quickly and immediately!" He led me through the door with all the grace of a gentleman.

When we got inside, tourists were checking out the swaying pillar and some monk-looking dudes were hanging around the stairs. Ethan's eyes swept the pillar, and it shook and swayed with ease and grace... all too flexible.

"Are you sure that thing won't break and collapse on us?" He gestured to the pillar, and I shrugged.

"I don't think so. It was designed to keep the building flexible and able to withstand earthquakes. Which is incredibly weird by the way, since you don't get earthquakes around this area. You usually get them around the Hoenn area." Ethan seemed to be more relaxed with my statement, and he led me to the stairs.

One of the monks stopped us. "I am a sage of this tower. Do you wish to challenge this tower and test your bonds and abilities?"

"Hell yea." Ethan pushed past the guy and jogged up the stairs. "Come on, Lee-Lee!"

"Stop calling me that! I thought we killed that nickname when we were eight!" I hollered back up. I turned to the sage. "Sorry for his... being himself." And I jogged up after him.

He stopped up there and waited for me, and of course he complained about my speed of things. It's not my fault I like to take things slow.

We started walking forward until we were greeted by the first sage. Since he happened to have two Bellsprout, and he had to fight against two trainers, we had a double battle. I sent out Cyndaquil, and Ethan sent out Ekans.

It was pretty quick; one Flame Wheel on my Bellsprout opponent took it out, and Ekans had to use two Wrap attacks. We won, and continued our winning streak up the stairs while casually talking about anything and everything.

"So, you and Falkner seem to be close after only two days, right?" He said as he pet Marill and walked toward the stairs leading to the top floor.

"Today is the third day, and yea, I guess we have gotten close." I appreciated how he wasn't so nosy, but he still cared about what was up with me.

"Well, while I don't dislike him, if he does something mean to you, ever, just let me know okay?" He pressed his fist into his palm. "I'll mess him up as soon as he does something wrong."

I laughed. "Don't worry about it. Falkner's probably not like that, and we aren't even dating or anything." I blushed lightly as I thought about it, but it probably wasn't so noticable.

"Hey man, what are big brothers for?" He said, then tripping over a passing Rattata shortly after. I chuckled and made sure I watched my step.

Ethan and I were well synced battlers when in a double battle. It was as if we were one battler, and we both knew what we wanted to attack with and what we wanted the other to do. It was as if we could read each other's actions before they happened, and we were in complete control of the battle.

"Mareep, Thundershock on Hoothoot!" I hollered out to my little sheep. This was the battle just before we battle the elder.

"Marill, Tackle on Bellsprout! If it's still up, tackle it again, but be fast!" Ethan called for his Pokemon, and after following our instruction, in a matter of seconds, we had won another battle.

I cheered for my other victory. So far, I was undefeated, and I liked it. Ethan congratulated Marill and Mareep, and then he hugged me and lifted me, twirling me in one spin before dropping me.

"Dude, let's go fight the elder!" He said, and the two of us rushed down the hall towards where he should be. However, we were stopped by another sage.

"Excuse me. I understand that the both of you are very tough trainers, and we would all like to see how you fare against our elder. However, he is busy with another trainer, and you must fight one on one. However, one of you may watch the other fight him, since you came in as a pair." He instructed, and the two of us waited out there, spraying a quick potion on our Pokemon.

Soon, a bell was heard, and the sage signaled that we were free to enter. When we got inside, we expected to see a trainer leaving, and an old man preparing his team to battle us.

However, that was not what we found.

A particular redhead stood before the old man who bore robes, glaring him down and ripping a TM from his hands.

"That was a huge waste of my time. Hmph, hopefully this TM will make up for it." The redhead said nonchalantly as he placed the disc in his bag and returned Totodile to his Pokeball.

"You should never battle like that. No matter how desperate you are to win a battle, never use Pokemon like tools, because they're not. They are not tools of war." The old man started to lecture him, but he wasn't listening.

"Who cares, alright? I won. That's all that matters is that I got my prize money and that TM." He turned on his heels to see a shocked me, and an irritated Ethan.

"So, Matthias Gardenheimer Jay," Ethan took a step forward, popping his knuckles. Aw hell, this could be bad...

"Excuse me?" He looked extremely confused, until his steely eyes rested on me. They shone of recognition, and then flashed with annoyance.

"You know, I have a word or two that I have to share with you," Ethan stepped forward again, pulled back his arm...

And swung his fist at Silver.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I know what you guys are thinking, I know, I know, I know. I make you wait a long time, and for this!? You're probably thinking, "What the hell is she thinking!? Let's kill her for giving us this shit!" Alright, I get it, not my best chapter, and it was short and I know you were probably expecting much better because I was gone so long. AND I'M SORRY!**

**Next chapter will be better though. As soon as the weekend comes, I can start typing it up. I already know what's gonna happen there, so I doubt I'll get writer's block. In case I haven't told some of you yet, I got a new job, and it demands most of my time. My work schedule is not finalized, and they tend to call me in whenever the hell they want, and it is exceedingly irritating.**

**But look forward to the next one, lots of drama and "Why the hell did you lie about my name? COULDN'T YOU HAVE MADE IT BELIEVABLE!?" kinda stuff, so yea, there you go.**

**Anyway, sorry for this, I promise I'll make up for it by adding Falkner in later in the story after she leaves Violet, I promise, I even know where I'm gonna fit him in.**

**So, review if you liked it, review if you don't, send helpful criticism, please don't hate me for this, I just wanted to incorportate a little apricorn-picking because it plays a part later on, and let there be some flirting, and of course she had to train, and I also had to add some Silver in there.**

**So bye guys. Expect the next chapter around the weekend or next week or whatever. I apologize for everything.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Silver at Sprout Tower

**Chapter Thirteen - Silver at Sprout Tower**

Ethan's fist launched forward towards Silver's jaw. I flinched and looked away, waiting for the sound of his fist hitting flesh.

But it didn't happen.

Looking up, Silver caught Ethan's fist in his palm and looked over to glare at me with those cold, peircing eyes. Just when I thought he would be okay and that maybe I could explain, Ethan's knee shot up and struck the redhead in the groin. _Hard._

Silver's eyes widened and he groaned, his venomous grimace scaring me because of how irritated and dangerous he looked. The elder was too busy having a sage help him heal his Pokemon to notice us. He was behind curtains in the back of the room.

Silver buckled, grabbing at his chest like he was choking to breathe. He rested his stomach on his forearm, and sat there groaning. He looked up at us with wide, vicious eyes. "W-what the hell was that for?!" He managed to choke out loudly, and even though it was choppy and he stuttered, it didn't make him less intimidating. He glanced angrily at me, and then glared at Ethan for an explanation. Ethan was unfazed by his murderous glare.

Silver's glare was much more frightening than the Gyarados, to be honest at the moment.

"Look here, asshole. You shouldn't fucking steal a Pokemon, alright? What you need to do is give it back to the professor-,"

"Hell no! Look you bastard, it's my Pokemon, and my methods of obtaining it shouldn't fucking matter." He groaned before standing, and then turned to me with those chilly, freezing eyes of his. He nodded to me with his chin. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I-I'm a trainer, obviously, so I'm training." I said and he scoffed.

"You're too weak to even bother, alright _Sweetie?" _I shivered at the cold sarcasm he used when he called me Sweetie. Then he gestured to Ethan, who looked incredibly pissed. "Here's your proof, you're both too weak to take on this tower on your own, so you partnered up. Do you think you could've gotten this far if you challenged it separately?" He grinned deviously.

"For your information, asshole, Lyra asked me to challenge this with her because she likes my company, and I might as well get a little training in while I'm at it. Don't call me weak, and you sure as hell don't get to call her weak, you got that?" Ethan stood between me and him.

Silver rolled his eyes and looked over at me. "W-E-A-K."

Ethan just about lunged for him, but I grabbed his arm and tried to stop him. "Ethan, don't. Please." I said quickly, and he looked over at me with those golden eyes. They were hard with anger, but then softened. He nodded.

"So, Lyra, was it?" Silver looked over to me, and my eyes widened, but I nodded. "You know, if you really want to earn that badge, you should actually make sure you're strong, alright? I don't think sleeping with the gym leader is gonna get you that badge, _Sweetums._" There he goes again with those nicknames. I felt my face get red from the angry blush on my face. I was getting pissed at him, and I was embarressed by the assumption that I was _sleeping with Falkner._

"W-w-What!? I'm n-not sleeping with Falkner for your information! We aren't even dating!" I hollered, yet he seemed unfazed. "I've only hung out with him a few times, and we've known each other for a few days, and... W-wait, how'd you know about that in the first place!?"

"Know what? That you're sleeping with him?"

"I'M NOT SLEEPING WITH HIM! I mean, how'd you know we've been hanging out?"

Silver raised his hand to his ear for a moment before continuing. "Damn, your voice is loud. He's been a little clingy around you lately. I've been trying to find him so I could challenge him, but he was too busy with you. Plus the gym guide told me I had to defeat Sprout Tower first." His cold eyes gazed up and down my body, and I squirmed, feeling very uncomfortable. "I don't get why he would want to sleep with you. You don't really have the most impressive bo-,"

"FOR THE FUCKING LAST GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING TIME, I AM NOT FUCKING FALKNER!" I screamed, desperate for him to give up believing that I was sleeping with the gym leader. The last thing that I needed was _that kind _of reputation. Ethan put his arm around me, protecting me like the big brother I always knew him as. He quickly rubbed a tear that was trying to escape, but I held them back once he rid of that one.

Silver shrugged. "Could've fooled me, Sweetheart."

"Stop calling her that, Matthias."

"What the fuck did you just call me?" He raised a brow, looking confused.

Ethan looked confused too. "Matthias, right? That's your name?"

Silver stared at him like he was stupid. Then he burst into laughter. "Absolutely not. That's probably as far from my name as you could get." He then laughed coldy and darkly as he left the two of us upstairs, pissed and adrenaline pumping.

"What does he mean that's not his name? Was he lying or something?" Ethan looked at me. "You're certain that was his name, right?"

I hesitated before answering. "I'm starting to second-guess now. Look, let's just battle the elder. You go first."

* * *

Ethan stood to the side, still looking pissed as I got ready to battle the elder. Ethan put his TM in his bag, and scratched his Ekans's head as he watched me and the elder take our battle stance.

"Your friend over there is very talented. Do you bare the same passion for battling, and are you able to battle gracefully?"

I smirked. "We'll see." The elder smiled, and reached for his first Pokeball.

"Let's go Bellsprout!" He flung his red ball over to the ground, and out of the light emerged a weird flower-looking Pokemon. It shook and danced oddly, shaking it's green leaves.

"Cyndaquil, go for it!" Cyndaquil barked and ran up to his opponent, eager to fight.

Elder had Bellsprout use Vine Whip repeatedly, which obviously had little effect on Cyndaquil at all. In fact, I think it tickled Cyndaquil at the most, causing him to cackle. He kept looking back at me and snickering at his opponent.

"Alright Cyndaquil, use Flame Wheel!" I said, and Cyndaquil curled up into a ball, set himself on fire, and within one hit, Bellsprout was down for the count.

"Go, my other Bellsprout!" He returned his first Bellsprout and replaced it with another. This one looked bigger and stronger.

"Cyndaquil, Flame Wheel again!" My Pokemon barked at rolled up again, and though Bellsprout buckled at the hit, he wasn't down. He struck my partner with a huge Vine Whip, and Cyndaquil actually whimpered at the blow. Bellsprout lashed at him again, slashing my partner, but the third time, Cyndaquil turned around and bit it, causing the grass-type to retract it in pain, wailing in an alien tone.

"Cyndaquil, Quick Attack!"

He obeyed and ran up to his opponent much faster than my eye could catch, and in an instant, the grass type was down.

"Well, that was easy enough. Cyndaquil, step back buddy!" I called for him, and he came back to my side. I gripped Mareep's Pokeball and pressed the button. My little sheep bounced excitedly, eager to fight something.

I saw fear flash across the elder's face for a moment, and then he released a Hoothoot.

It cooed, but didn't get a chance to attack because, in the instant it stepped on the floor, Mareep took it out with one little Thundershock.

My Pokemon came to me and cheered, barking and bleating at my legs. The elder looked very shocked, and then handed me a TM.

"That's the TM for Flash. My, my, you child, you battle gracefully and elegantly. I have never seen such a battler in my life." He mumbled this very quietly, but I felt pride bubble up into my chest at the words he was saying. "You undoubtedly bear the skills to battle Falkner. Hurry on, go and fight him! I'm sure he will be delighted to see your skills!"

"Thank you, Elder." I curtsied, and then returned my Pokemon to their Pokeballs. I grabbed Ethan's arm and we headed back to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

I called Kris as Ethan and I left the Pokemon Center to go to the gym.

"So, how was sprout tower?" Her voice asked over the speaker.

"Easy peasy, living greasy." I said as I rolled my eyes. Kris giggled. "But the elder said that Ethan and I were good battlers."

"Well, that's cool. I solved one of the puzzles by the way. The archaeologists thought they were supposed to be words of an ancient language, but they were actually pictures. I figured that out, and I realized that one of them was supposed to be a picture of a Kabuto. When I put the pieces in place, no joke, I shit you not, I fell through the damn floor this morning! My morning went to hell and back, and after some research guy found me, he helped me out and then he complimented my knowledge and stuff. He gave me a notepad and showed me a species of Pokemon know as Unown."

"Knows species known as Unown? That was a very weird sentence, Kris." Ethan snorted.

"Anyway, they look like letters. I see shapes of them on the walls of the ruins. I'm sending you some data from my Pokedex via Pokedex wireless transfer, and also, I found what looks like a word. I'm sending you a picture now. Lyra, Ethan, what do you think it is?"

Our Pokedexes beeped, confirming that the data had traveled from her Pokedex to our Pokedexes. Then I uploaded the picture she sent to me. It was a little section of wall with odd symbosl engraved in it.

"I-it looks like, I don't know, letters I guess, like you said. Um, hold up, I think I can see what that says..." I squinted my eyes at it, sort of seeing words forming from within the odd shapes. "There's an 'e', an 's'... It looks like 'escape.'"

"Escape? What's that supposed to mean? Do I need to leave?" She asked hurriedly.

"I don't think so, if you had to leave, something would've made you leave by now. Um, I know it's a long shot, but does you have an escape rope on you?"

She hesitated, and then snorted. "Um, what? Why?"

"I dunno, maybe use the 'Escape Rope' near the 'Escape' thing?"

Kris was silent for another moment. "Lyra, I don't know where you get your notions from, but gimme a sec... Oh! Hey! Look at that! Lyra, you're a genius!" She laughed lightly, and in the background I heard loud shuffling noises.

"What was that?"

"It opened a door! Thanks Lyra! I gotta go look deeper, but I'll be back at our room by tonight. Good luck with your gym thing!"

"Bye Kris, stay safe! Be careful!" We hung up after that.

Ethan and I kept walking down the main street towards the big building known as the gym.

"So, you wanna challenge him first? Get him all warmed up for me?" I asked, and Ethan snorted.

"I'll battle him first so I can get my badge first. If you want me to tire him out before you challenge him, you don't have to lie about it."

I scoffed and playfully punched my friend on his shoulder. "Shut up, that is sooo not it!"

We laughed and teased on the way inside.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**By the way, I just now finished this chapter at lunch today, so you guys better feel special that I starved myself for you!**

**And chapter fourteen, the chapter where Lyra finally fights Falkner will be updated up here around next week. So be ready for it, I'm gonna try to make it epic!**

**Don't really have anything to say this time, just building drama for the next chapter, so bye!**

**sorry for updating so late, I did this all on my phone.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Gym Battle: Falkner

**Chapter Fourteen - Gym Battle: Falkner**

"Lyra, are you fully prepared?" Falkner's sweet, husky voice asked me softly from across the gym. Ethan was outside with Kris, admiring his first gym badge. I guess I had underestimated Ethan's strength before, but he proved his fiery determination through his team today. I wasn't there to see the fight since the battle experience was meant to be a one-on-one fight, an experience shared and kept between the two opponents. But Ethan must've done well since he was finished within eight minutes. I remember what he told me as he stepped out.

"He's ready for you. And he's excited." Ethan patted my back encouragingly when he exited the building, a proud smile on his face as Marill hugged his leg happily, clinging to it like a small child while he walked_. "Don't let him win."_

That phrase stuck with me because that was the exact same thing my dad told me once, when I was very little.

_"Princess, what's the matter?" Dad ran up to me while I sat on the porch steps with Mom hugging me and consoling me. My father and Uncle Pidgeot saw the tears rolling down my face, so he sat beside me and squeezed my hand while Uncle Pidgeot preened my curls. I sniffed between sobs. He looked to my mom, looking for an explanation but she had none because I was too busy crying to tell her what had happened at school that day._

_"This boy pushed me down off the swing at recess, and he called me fat and ugly and told me I sing ugly in music class..." I choked between sobs. "And he keeps breaking my crayons and pulling my hair and telling me I'm stupid and sing stupid. But I don't sing stupid!" _

_Dad squeezed my hand and smiled at me. "You don't sing stupid. You sing very beautifully. You sing nothing like I did when I was in that band back in Ranger School." He looked up at mom and laughed. "Remember that, Honey?"_

_She rolled her pretty brown eyes. "I try not to," She said with a teasing smirk. Dad laughed and looked back down at me._

_"Princess, how does he sing in music class?"_

_I sniffed and wiped my drippy nose on my sleeve. "Like a butt." _

_There was a silence until Pidgeot snorted and we all laughed at my comment. Dad patted my back._

_"Well, why would he tell you bad things, Lyra?"_

_I shrugged and thought, then managed to conjure up a theory. "We have a competition in music class; who is better at singing. I don't think he wants me to win." I threw myself in Dad's lap and started whining. "Daddy, I don't want to lose to him!"_

_Dad snorted, and looked to Pidgeot. My uncle rolled his eyes and squawked. The two of them looked at me knowingly._

_"Well, Lyra, when we go on missions, the bad guys don't want us to win. They do whatever it takes to win and keep doing bad things. But we have an unwavering method of not losing. There is only one real solution to make sure that _you_ win." I leaned in, listening intently to the rangers before me. _

_"The one and only method, without fail, to winning," Dad made sure I was paying attention to every word. "Don't let him win."_

_And that was it._

At the time, I didn't really get it and I questioned the method, but right now it made sense and perfect logic; if he doesn't win, then I don't lose. Of course, that doesn't make it all that easier to win. I'm sure Falkner is a tough opponent, and it may take me a few minutes or hundreds of tries to pull this off.

"Ready, Falkner!" I sang across the battle stage, and he smiled as he held up a Pokeball. Cyndaquil and Mareep sat readily at my feet, excited for a battle, yet tense due to the heights. Falkner's Pidgey, the friendly one that he doesn't use for battle, sat on his shoulder and whistled happily at seeing me and my Pokemon, whom of which he has grown close to.

Falkner fluidly flicked his wrist to the floor, dropping the Pokeball and releasing the Pokemon inside. After the light, a bird, larger than the average of its species, squawked violently. It was a large, obviously tough Pidgey who clearly wasn't fazed as he looked over me. His feathers seemed coarse, his stance said he was an experienced battler and he had a hard glare while appearing aloof and non-caring as he evaluated my team. I could almost sense a feeling of smugness emanating from him.

I looked down at my duo at my feet, and they seemed to be calculating their strengths and weaknesses, as well as trying to size up their opponent. Mareep seemed to be confident, and she nudged me to assure me that she could handle him easily. Cyndaquil didn't seem fazed and he glared at the bird back, trying to give off an air of dominance. Mareep had a better type advantage, so I might as well let her have the first bout.

I leaned down to pat her on the head. "You really sure you got this one?" I already know that she would, but I felt better asking. She smiled happily and bleated. I smiled back.

"Alright, Mareep, go get 'em!" She bleated excitedly and bounded onto the stage, crouching and wagging her tail like an excited, playful puppy. The Pidgey cawed loudly, trying to be intimidating, but it didn't seem to faze Mareep one bit. After all, we did take on a lot of Pidgeys during our training. What's one more?

Falkner smiled and bowed like a gentleman. "May the lady take the first move?" His Pidgey squawked indignantly and seemed confused. He must not be used to seeing Falkner flirt with an opponent.

"Why, thank you sir!" I said with the same mock lady attitude, then chuckled. "Alright, Mareep, tackle!"

The bird already leaned to the left, preparing to dodge, but luckily, Mareep noticed and attacked in that direction, knocking the bird outta the air. Pidgey squawked at the contact and fell, fluttering his wings wildly to lift himself back up. In the blink of an eye, he was swooping down with his talons out, aiming for my cute little sheep.

Mareep didn't see where he was until the last minute, and instinctively, her coat stiffened with static electricity. She reared back, but Pidgey already rammed into her, knocking her on her side, and causing her to slide a few feet. But she sure as hell wasn't down for the count.

The bird flinched at the slight shock, but it didn't paralyze him. Surely, though, if Mareep were to use an electric type move, then we would definitely have the upper hand.

"Mareep, use your Thundershock! Shock him outta the air!" Mareep cried back confidently, and focused on the brown Pidgey fluttering all around the joint. The ball of light on her tail shone brighter and brighter, and I could crackling coming from her wool coat as she built up electricity.

Just as Pidgey swooped down to send a flying tackle to little sheep, Falkner saw Mareep charging up for an attack.

"Pidgey! Turn around, go the other way!" He hollered, but just as Mareep let loose all her bolts, Pidgey swooped up with grace I never imagined from a dingy, wild bird raised for battle.

The fight continued like this for a while; the bird attacked from above, Mareep was hit, but barely harmed. Mareep would let loose electricity, Pidgey would get hit by some, but not be too hurt because of his ability to dodge quickly and his pure stamina.

Mareep frustratingly released a thundershock and screamed defiantly, determined to make one strong hit, good and true. Pidgey rolled his eyes cockily, then used his muscular wings to build a huge gust, sending the bolts back to Mareep and away from him. The bolts didn't really harm Mareep, but she must've felt the shock of her own power as she stood and shivered from the hit for a moment. She growled and glared at the wild bird, who seemed irritatingly smug at the situation.

Her tail started to glow, preparing for another attack, but then the strangest thing happened.

Her tail started to glow, and so did her coat. Within a matter of seconds, her whole body was glowing in a harsh light, and the more I looked at her, the more my eyes hurt.

I shielded my face away from the brightness of her, and when it seemed to have dimmed, I opened my eyes to see a taller, pink fluffy creature standing where Mareep stood.

She bleated loudly, making a battle cry that was oddly cute, yet very intimidating.

Falkner seemed surprised, raising his brows and looking at me with a smile tugging at his lips. Pidgey's arrogance vanished at the sight of her. I've never actually seen this process face-to-face before, but I remember watching videos and taking notes of it in Trainer's School and at the lab. It took me a second to recognize it, but I knew exactly what it was.

Evolution.

Mareep evolved into a Flaaffy.

She turned to me with a smile and bleated happily and proudly. Cyndaquil let out a nervous squeak at her, then barked at her encouragingly.

"Holy Miltank, Mareep! I mean, Flaaffy!" I laughed. "Look at you! Only a few days of training, too, and you evolved!"

She gave me a sunny look and turned towards the Pidgey. Was it just me, or did Pidgey just lose his cool?

"Flaaffy, use Thundershock!" I felt a new rush from calling her Flaaffy, a new name containing new power.

"Bwaaaaaahhhhhh!" She stretched and hunched over, letting her new-and-improved light ball charge up quickly, and then letting the lightning loose from her fur as if her fluffy coat were thunderclouds.

Electricity sparked and crackled, and flashes of yellow, blue and pink lightning lit up the whole gym, probably emitting an interesting light show out the window for the people outside to 'ooh' and 'aw' over.

Pidgey tried to bob and weave through all the sparks, but he couldn't avoid all of them. Several sparks hit him, and then one particular pink bolt hit him dead on, knocking him to the floor.

He hit the gym with a thud, and after struggling to get up, he gave in to resting on the floor, not wanting to get back up.

"Well done, Lyra," Falkner commmented as he pulled out his Pokeball and returned the exhausted Pidgey back home. "But don't think you're finished yet. I still have on more weapon in my arsenal... And I'd be surprised to see if you can handle this one."

"I'm sure Flaaffy and I can handle whatever you've got to throw at us." I said cooly with a smirk, and both of my Pokemon barked in response.

"Then try me," He grinned his own terrifyingly cool grin, and released another Pokemon onto the battlefield.

_Whatever it is, Lyra, just don't let him win..._

"SCAAAAWWW!" A bird, even larger than the previous Pidgey fluttered to the battlefield. This bird actually made me worry.

His feathers were a caramel brown, and the feathers looked ridiculously soft. His height would probably reach my waist, maybe even a little higher than that. His beak was a shiny, well-polished pink, and so were his talons. His crest feathers were long for a Pidgeotto, but not long enough to be identified as a Pidgeot, and were a beautiful autumn red color. He was pretty buff for a bird, and his call was almost melodious.

Flaaffy wasn't the least bit unnerved. If anything, she seemed determined.

"Pidgeotto, you know what to do." Pidgeotto cawed in response to his trainer, and readied himself for anything that Flaaffy could attack him with.

Flaaffy immediately released a charge that she was building up in her fur, and it sent sparks into the air I was breathing. Pidgeotto sat there and took the hit, though hurt, wasn't overly affected by it. He cawed and flew up to the rafters, and then dived down onto little Flaaffy's head. Flaaffy's head smacked into the floor face first, and she jumped up and tackled the bird down as he turned upward.

Flaaffy was on top of the struggling bird, and wrestling the bird in her arms, charged up static energy in her fur, preparing to release it. Electricity sparked and Pidgeotto seemed to want to escape, though not at the point of desperation yet.

Flaaffy screamed violently as she released the shocks, and Pidgeotto braced himself as he took her attack.

She fell back, dazed from that outburst of sudden energy, and Pidgeotto fluttered away, though I noticed something was off now; his movements weren't fluid and quick like a minute before, but instead were choppy and he seemed to struggle.

"Damn it, you paralyzed him!" Falkner cursed, then hollered back at his Pokemon, "Pidgeotto, turn her own strength against her, and dodge all attacks!" Pidgeotto stretched and fluttered his wings quickly to release the painful tension paralyzing him. Then he cawed confidently back at the gym leader.

"Flaaffy, prepare the biggest thundershock you can!" Flaaffy smiled deviously and I saw the pretty colors light up her wool, and she cooly watched the bird struggle to fly. Pidgeotto made no move towards Flaaffy yet, and she took the time biding her energy into a powerful thundershock.

Pidgeotto would dart around, looking for a blind spot, but Flaaffy would jump in that direction as the tension and electricity filled up the stuffy room. Pidgeotto couldn't get an opening on Flaaffy, and I started feeling confident. His movements weren't getting any stronger anyway, so we were riding out his endurance.

"Flaaffy, now!" I called, and the brightest flash of lightning exploded out of her fur, the thunder sound following in that instant, setting the town to rumble after the intense shock. There's no way _any _Pokemon could take that hit and last!

Pidgeotto had a glint in his eye, a smug glint. He whipped up a gust, an intensely powerful gust that sent loose winds that knocked the bolts around wildly, and in an instant, could destroy everything if they were knocked in the wrong direction.

But instead, they were knocked in Flaaffy's direction.

Flaaffy screamed as her own multi-colored bolts crashed into her, knocking her loose and sent her skidding along the floor to my feet. She didn't move, but groaned in pain.

"Flaaffy?!" She didn't move, and when I looked at her face, her eyes pleaded with me to not send her back out there again.

I hugged her. "Don't worry, girl, you can rest now." I turned to Cyndaquil. "You got this one, dude?" Cyndaquil smirked and nodded, then turned and barked viciously at the tired yet strong bird. I nodded towards the battle stage, and he bounded up there in a defensive crouching position, ready to fight.

"Cyndaquil, release a huge ember attack!" Cyndaquil stopped and squeaked at me doubtfully. Of course he would question me; after all, a huge elemental attack was what knocked out Flaaffy. However, there is a new method to my madness. "Trust me, I have an idea!" Cyndaquil growled and barked at me, not wanting to try it.

I groaned. "Cyndaquil, this will only work if you cooperate, so please just trust me! I know what I'm doing!" Cyndaquil barked, and turned around slowly, their air of doubt still clinging to him heavily.

Pidgeotto took the distraction and swooped down to tackle my mouse off of the battle stage, but Cyndaquil rolled into a ball and rolled away, causing the bird to swoop back up and search for him. His movements were still choppy and difficult, which could work to my advantage, assuming that Cyndaquil would follow with my plan.

"Come on Cyndaquil, please!" I begged for him to comply, but instead he rolled around, leapt up and tackled in Pidgeotto's direction, but missed. Pidgeotto swooped down and tackled Cyndaquil, and my partner skidded a foot or so before catching himself and barking embers, smoke curling out of his back.

"Cyndaquil, will you trust me?" He looked at me doubtfully, but then continued to chase the bird and tried to physically bring him down, though he failed. Falkner thought it was just problems between a trainer and her Pokemon; I noticed that Cyndaquil was actually heating himself up and using the tackles as a distraction. I was sure that he was still unsure, but at least he was willing to give my idea a shot.

Pidgeotto would swing low and try to physically attack Cyndaquil, and he would roll away, only frustrating the slightly paralyzed bird. I noticed heat waves surrounding him a bit, and he moved faster to rid himself of all that blazing energy, and his glare begged me to ask him to release it.

"Ok Cyndaquil, now!" He seemed to roll his eyes, obviously thinking _"It's about damn time,"_ and released the intense column of flames from his back, erupting much like a volcano in the body of a mouse. The sound resembled something similar to an explosion, and I was sure that those outside were wondering what in the living hell was going on in here. I'm just glad that all gym buildings were designed to withstand all forms of attacks and power, so I hoped that would ensure that I didn't burn down the joint.

Pidgeotto squawked in shock of the intensity of it, and Falkner and I gawked at it. Pidgeotto recovered from the sight of it and desperately tried to whip up a whirlwind to send it back. I expected this.

Cyndaquil looked at me with fear, doubt and expectation. He growled at me, asking me what the hell to do now.

"Flame Wheel, and keep it in a tight circle!" He rolled his eyes, let the fire go and did as I told, set himself on fire and rolled around at intense speeds. The fire that Pidgeotto redirected at him was then redirected into a vortex, and it rose slowly with every round that Cyndaquil made. Pidgeotto was terrified and whipped up powerful winds but he seemed exhausted with his pained and paralyzed wings. He couldn't stay up there much longer.

Cyndaquil seemed to realize this and he excitedly ran faster and faster, burning up all that heat energy and producing more and more to burn. The vortex got bigger and the winds only upped the power and intensity of the fire tornado. It wasn't an official fire spin attack, but it way more powerful. The winds whipped my hair about in my face, and the flames heated up my skin, turning me red and sweaty. Falkner was also loosing his cool in more ways than one.

Pidgeotto stopped the winds, and tried to fly away and avoid the column of flames at all costs, but his whirlwinds were still whipping and he got caught in them, unable to fly away due to his tired wings.

He got caught inside the fire twister and I could hear him cawing fearfully as he tried to find a way out. He was no longer focused on winning, but now on escaping. _Because I didn't let them win._

Flaaffy, now conscious, was cheering on Cyndaquil and bleating excitedly. We stood there in awe and laughing and crying at the beauty and terror of the fire.

The flames, however, set off the fire alarm and the sprinklers along the ceiling went wild.

Cyndaquil stopped in an instant and rolled away from the scene, huddled in a corner of the stage without hanging near the edge and reduced his flames down to smoke. The remainder of the flames dwindled down and revealed an exhausted, soaking brown bird in the middle of the floor.

Falkner pressed an emergency button on the wall beside him that only gyms have, and the sprinklers stopped. He sighed and wiped the water and sweat from his face as he approached his bird. He looked up at me in awe after a silent conversation with his partner.

"Damn." Was all he said after a moment. He pulled a Pokeball from his belt and returned the exhausted bird back to his Pokeball. He stood and approached me with a serious shock in his eyes; like he was disappointed and happy at the same time. "Lyra, I... Damn, Lyra, that was amazingly wicked!" He hugged me and I felt the heavy weight of his exhausted self. He seemed relieved at the moment, and so did I. I hugged him tightly to myself and we held each other up after such an intense battle. I felt heavy and relieved, yet tired and weak as my knees wobbled. The anxiety of the fight had drained me, and the fighting had drained my Pokemon.

I looked over at them, and a tired Flaaffy was congratulating Cyndaquil who sat beside her, exhausted. He didn't seem to care at the moment about the fact that she was crushing on him and that he found her obnoxious; he just needed a break and appreciated her admiration. He sighed heavily and so did she, so they sat there in the puddles on the floor, stretching and resting.

Falkner's laughing rang in my ears, and it made me feel warm. "Lyra, if I were in your shoes, I never would've thought of that. You deserve this badge." He let me go for a second and reached into his pocket to pull out a badge resembling angel wings. He placed it into my hand. "It's the Zephyr Badge. Proof that you have defeated me fair and square and proof that you have amazing skills for a rookie trainer. My dad's precious birds may not be in that best shape, but it's ok, because I got to witness your grace in battle." He grabbed my hand and started to lead a soaking wet me towards the doors of the gym.

I returned my team and let them rest because they deserved it. They deserved the badge, the rest and I will even cook the best dinner for them when I get back to the center. I also need to call Mom and the professor when I get back too, so I can update them with my victory and progress.

I stepped out, and my Pokegear rang. Well, think of the devil and he'll call you. I answered anyway. "Hello, Professor Elm! I was just about to call you!"

"Don't care! I need you to help me out, so go to the PokeMart in Violet City and meet Henry in there for me, alright?"

"Yea, sure thing Professor, but I want you to know that Ethan and I have the gym badge from Violet City." Falkner smiled at me as I said this, and I squeezed the hand I had intertwined in his.

"Oh, really, is that so?" Falkner stole my Pokegear at this moment and spoke to the professor to confirm it.

"Well, this is Falkner himself, Gym Leader of Violet City, and I must say, I was quite impressed with the skill of both of your assistants. You should be proud with the both of them, sir. I'm putting you back on with Lyra." He handed the phone back to me.

"Well, Lyra, it seems that you've made friends with Falkner. Congratulations to you and Ethan. I must get back to what I was doing, and please go meet my assistant in the PokeMart."

"Sure thing. What were you doing when you called me? You sounded busy."

"Playing around on Tumblr, uh, I MEANT DOING LEGITIMATE RESEARCH. Yeah, yea that was it! I was watching this Rattata doing, uh, scientific stuff, and-,"

"It's cool Professor, I already follow you on Tumblr." He sounded flustered on the other end and Falkner and I laughed insanely on our end. "Alright Professor, goodbye, and good luck with the 'reasearch!'" I hung up and Falkner walked me to the PokeMart.

"Professor Elm isn't really the most serious of professors, is he?" Falkner chuckled.

"Well, he isn't the silliest. Professor Birch of Hoenn is pretty chill and laid back, whereas Elm is just simply spastic. I've only met him once, when he came to the lab a few years back. He had a daughter, May or something, and she got along with Kris and I, and we would all beat up Ethan back in the day. But I can almost never take Elm seriously. Last time I saw him serious was a few days ago when... Well, I've gone off topic." I shook my head and we watched a passing Butterfree on our way to the store.

The sliding glass doors beeped when we entered, and I saw Henry sitting at a table cradling something in his arms. He seemed to be distracted while watching a woman in the store, and I chuckled, remembering that Henry is a weird romantic and probably thinking of some pick-up lines to use at the moment.

"Hey Henry!" He jumped at hearing me, then turned around and smiled at me and Falkner.

"Lyra! And I see you met Falkner! How have you been for the past few days?" He stood and exposed that he was cradling a round object in a blanket.

"I've been doing great! Ethan and I got our first badge from this guy," I nudged Falkner as I said it. "And I caught a Mareep who evolved earlier. It's been pretty great to be a trainer so far. How's the research?"

"Ah, you see, that's what we wanted to talk to you about. We have a lot on our plates right now, and Professor Juniper needs help with a project involving some Deerling and Sawsbuck and whether or not the region changes their forms, and there's a hundred other projects as well with professors and experts coming in and out by day. It doesn't help that the professor discovered Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter," He rolled his eyes and Falkner and I bit back a snicker. "That's why we need the most trustworthy of our loyal and intelligent youths to help us out." He handed to me the round, wrapped object, and upon closer inspection, I realized that it was the egg I delivered about a week ago. It was warm again, and I could feel it squirm a little bit this time. "We need you to take care of this egg and hatch it since we don't have the time ta take care of a baby Pokemon running about the lab during our busy weeks ahead of us. I really can't handle that distraction, but we're curious about the species inside, so could you please take care of it and send us data on it when it hatches?"

I held the egg close to me and imagined the little baby inside. I smiled at the thought of raising a baby Pokemon. Would it be the same as raising a mature Pokemon like the others? Or would it be a new experience? Falkner stared at me as I stared at the egg, and I got excited at the thought of another member to my team.

"You can always count on me!" Henry smiled and thanked me kindly. "Is there anything else you guys need from me while I'm here?"

Henry glanced at the woman browsing the magazines with her Nidorina sitting on a leash by her feet, but instead shrugged it off. "Nah, I'm good. I guess I have to go, but good luck with the rest of your journey, Lyra! And the best to you as well, Falkner!" He was about to walk away but I stopped him.

"Wait here." I walked up to the woman and pretended to browse the magazines, then started my favor to Henry. "Oh my, what a cute little Nidorina!" I leaned down to examine the blue Pokemon who seemed pleased.

"Thank you, I get her groomed professionally every weekend!" I smiled, then glanced at the _Dating Help! _magazine she was reading, a popular romantic's magazine originating from Unova, and started a conversation with her. "Oh, you having dating issues too?"

She realized that I saw the cover of what she was reading and then shrugged. "Yea, you could say that. He kicked me out last week, calling me a nerd for being interested in psycology and the behavior of people and Pokemon while he drinks all the time watching golf. Like, I enjoy all kinds of sports, but golf? Ugh, it bores me, so I'm glad that it's over. I wish I could meet a nice guy who's smart and sweet, you know?" I chuckled, then she seemed embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't know you and I'm bothering you with my problems, I'm sorry."

"No, no, I know what you mean. I have a friend who's a romantic, loves to give to girls, but they tend to walk all over him. He's an assistant for Professor Elm, and he is great with Pokemon. He is a really sweet guy and super smart since he's the professor's favorite assistant." I could tell I caught her attention, and then I gestured to the egg. "He even came all the way here to give me this orphaned egg that he couldn't take care of himself, but at least he made sure it found a loving home instead of tossing it out in the wild to let it hatch all alone."

"Really? Who would this friend of yours be?" I smirked inwardly, then elaborated.

"Oh, his name is Henry, and he's actually right over there with my friend Falkner, the gym leader here." I pointed towards the nervous assistant talking to a cool, calm and collected Falkner. I looked back at her. "Would you like me to introduce you?"

After this, that and the other thing, Jessica and Henry hit it off, and Falkner walked me back to the center after praising me for my skills.

"Wow, so you can hook up couples, but yet you yourself is single?" He asked innocently, and I laughed and nodded. He continued telling me how great a girl I am, and then we reached my door where my friends were waiting.

"So, I guess I'm leaving tomorrow..." I said sadly. His eyes were downcast too, but I chirped again, trying to lighten the mood. "But I'll try to visit as often as I can so we can catch up!"

"You know what, Lyra? It's only like, noon, so how about later tonight, I don't know, you and your friends meet me in the lobby and I'll treat you all to a dance hall? My treat; we'll celebrate your success against me, dance a little bit, and tomorrow, I'll send you off. Let's just hang out one more time before you go?"

I smiled at the thought of dancing with Falkner, at happily agreed. "Alright! I'm sure they'd be happy to go as well!"

"Alright, I'll meet you here at about six or seven, that cool?" I nodded and he smiled before hugging me tightly. "Dress pretty, Angel." And then he turned to go down the hall, leaving me with my erratically beating heart at my new nickname.

I twisted the doorknob, prepared to beg Kris to dress me for tonight.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**First off, I am so, so, so, so, so, so incredibly very sorry for not updating. For the first while, my grandfather passed away, and then finals week, and then I got fired, and then I got a boyfriend who finally admitted he thinks my fanfiction thing is stupid, so I dumped him on the spot immediately after he said so. It was so hard to type up a happy chapter when all I was thinking about was how this guy was a complete jerk through the whole month we were dating, and I feel like an idiot for staying with him for that long. Usually I'm not that stupid, but I don't know, we all have a brainfart once in a while, right?**

**Anyway, I finally get back to the laptop, and I keep getting writer's block because I'm making Lyra and Falkner all flirty and fun but the whole time, I'm thinking about how badly I want this guy burned in a ditch. He cheated on me with two girls! One was my cousin!**

**That's why I postponed the dancing scene for next chapter, because I hope I'll calm down.**

**I'm fine, so no worries about me. School's out in two weeks, and I'll happily be back to updating often and reading and writing the fics. Just remember I love you guys and I'm sorry for not updating. I truly am.**

**Anyway, this is what I have for you, and I hope you like it! Thanks for no one sending threats through PM saying "Update or I'll track you down and kill you," or whatever. I appreciate your patience, and I hope I never make you guys wait that long again.**

**Also, in case you're wondering, the "Don't let him win," is gonna be a recurring theme in later chapters, so that's why that's there.**

**Thank you all for supporting, liking and following my story. I love all of you.**


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